


Like a Library Book

by auntylala



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-01 15:37:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 68,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11489412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auntylala/pseuds/auntylala
Summary: AU/non cannon compliant what if story...  Jack borrows an archivist from London and is sent Ianto Jones on a temporary basis. Winning the team over with his coffee Ianto leaves Jack wondering just how many of his secrets the archivist knows. Until the fall of Canary Wharf where everything changes.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to play with the idea of what would Ianto Jones have been like if he hadn't tried to smuggle a half converted Lisa into the Hub. And this is what happened. Love it or hate it, don't forget it's just an idea that grew in my head, I own nothing and I mean no disrespect nor do I make any profit. I do it for the story and to practice my writing. 
> 
> I have edited this since posting it on fanfiction.net and with no beta any mistakes are mine.

Suzie looked up as Jack swaggered into view. 'Call went well then.' It was an observation not a question. Usually he hung up in a cloud of annoyance and stomped around the Hub like a petulant child. This time he was actually grinning.  
'They are graciously granting my request for the lend of a junior archivist.'  
She scoffed. 'London is sending Cardiff a junior archivist, on loan? I thought you wanted one you could keep. You may as well have gone down to the local library and borrowed one of their volunteers.'  
'Oh I don't know, I'm hoping it's only for as short a time as I told them it would be.' He had too many secrets to want anyone from One on a more permanent basis in his archives, no matter how much they needed someone.  
'Who we getting then?'  
Jack shrugged. 'They said to look for a suit tomorrow morning and I'll have to put him up for the duration.'  
Suzie picked her blow torch up. 'Whatever, try not to shag this one.'  
Jack winked. 'I make no promises.' Shoving his hands in his pockets he whistled as he ambled away from his second in command.  
Suzie shook her head wondering how likely it would be, if he was the sort of man to wear suits, that Jack would want to shag the temporary archivist from One. Or if he was even this side of sixty, based on her brief encounter with Torchwood One's archivists the last time Jack had sent her to London. Before her boss disappeared from view she called out. 'And exactly where are you putting him up?'  
Jack turned and grinned. 'I've got a place.  
Clicking her visor in place she decided to leave it up to Jack, for all that was worth and trust he didn't mean a camp bed in the bunker under his desk.

\----------

Ianto Jones, Junior Archivist, refused to scurry when summoned to the Senior Archivist's desk. The Senior Archivist, Reginald Gunn was twenty years his senior in both age and length of service to Torchwood. Something he frequently lorded over the impeccably dressed Welshman who had, so far, failed to even acknowledge the not so thinly disguised hints he liked to drop. The sort of hints that implied Ianto Jones was going to remain a lowly junior archivist for a very long time if he didn't get with the program. And by program Reggie meant his bed. So when Hartman said she needed someone to go to Cardiff for a few weeks, Reggie had instantly thought of Ianto. Deciding that time away from the bit of fluff in HR, spent in a dank and mould infested underground base, might change the young man's mind about that latest promotion on offer.  
Ianto felt the greedy eyes of Reggie following him across the room, wondering if the man would fuck up this time and say something proving harassment. Entering the cubical he suspected this wasn't that day. 'You called?' He didn't even bother hiding the board tone that clipped his words with short politeness.

Reggie leered at Ianto and nodded. 'Got an assignment for you Jones.' He watched as Ianto raised an eyebrow and waited. 'Cardiff needs to borrow an archivist for a few weeks.'  
'Oh.' Ianto kept his face calm as he continued to effect an air of disinterest.  
'You leave this afternoon and start at eight tomorrow.' He held a folder out.  
Ianto nodded, carefully taking the folder so their hands didn't touch.  
'You can catch the train or drive, up to you. Torchwood Three will put you up for the duration but I talked them into getting you a hotel for tonight. He winked. 'I could even drive you there, if you like.'  
'I think I can manage. I'm hardly going to get lost being Welsh and all.'  
'Right, and try not to miss me too much Jones.'  
Ianto gave him a ghost of a smile. 'I'm sure I'll cope.' He began reviewing what he knew of the Cardiff branch as he walked away. His thoughts moving from Reggie to Captain Jack Harkness, wondering if he wasn't trading one skeevy perve for another. Although it was the least of his worries given Lisa was going to kill him if he missed her birthday family dinner.  
He hadn't been wrong as he walked away from Lisa in HR and headed for their shared flat. Trying to reassure her it wasn't a conspiracy so he didn't have to spend time with her parents hadn't been helped by his pointing out he had hardly volunteered to be sent to Cardiff for an unspecified period of time. She extracted a promise he'd do everything he could to make it back for her birthday and it was suggested he use his time in Cardiff to find her a really impressive gift. He hadn't left her smiling but she wasn't throwing her stapler after him, just a barb that he wasn't a library book Cardiff could simply borrow at a whim. He decided if it was an extremely impressive birthday gift he might just be okay. Maybe.

\----------

Rhiannon Davies sighed as she followed the shoes and socks that proclaimed her son was home from school. 'Oi, what did I say, David Ifan Davies, about your bloody school shoes!'  
The boy hung his head and tried to give her his best puppy eyes look.  
'Oh no.' She shook her head. 'That wont work on me young man. You best pick your stuff up and put it where it should be before I take the cable for the play station away. Again.'  
'Yes mam.'  
She nodded as he moved at top speed to avoid what he clearly saw as a fate worse than homework. Frowning as she looked for her daughter and found her on the phone. 'And who are you talking to young lady?'  
Mica held the phone up. 'Uncle Yan.'  
'Ianto?'  
'Rhi, it seems I'm being loaned out to our Cardiff branch for a bit so I thought I'd call.'  
'Cardiff? You and Lis?'  
'Just me, I'll be in Cardiff by tea time and wondered if I should pick some pizzas up and come over.'  
'That would be grand Yan.'  
'I'm hoping it stays a clear run and I'll be there by six.'  
'Dav's off olives at the moment.'  
'Right, I'll keep that in mind, I'll call when I get closer to Cardiff.'  
Ianto made good time as he dropped his overnight bag at the hotel before picking up the pizzas his sister ordered. Leaving the pizza store he nearly walked into a man with dark hair, a vintage RAF great coat and an American accent.  
'Sorry about that.'  
Ianto recognized the man in those three words as he was looked up and down with an appreciative grin that boarded on leering.  
'Pleased to meet you I'm -.'  
'I know who you are, Captain Harkness.'  
'And you would be?'  
'Jones, Ianto Jones. Junior Archivist, Torchwood One.'  
Jack's grin grew. 'You're my suit?'  
Ianto nodded. 'I'm also late.'  
'You seem early to me, I wasn't expecting you until eight am.'  
'Yes, but my sister's expecting me with dinner.'  
Jack stepped aside. 'Far be it for me to keep you but I'm already looking forward to tomorrow.'  
Ianto nodded politely, muttering in Welsh. 'I'm sure you are.'  
Jack waited as he watched the young man with his pretty blue eyes and lovely bum and accent walk away. Shaking his head he picked his own pizza up and wondered how long his resolve not to shag the man was going to last. It wasn't like he'd promised Suzie he'd keep his hands to himself...

\----------

At precisely eight AM Ianto Jones straightened his tie and checked his watch before looking up to see the Captain striding towards him. His voice ringing out in the crisp Cardiff air.  
'Jones, Ianto Jones, first order of business, I'm to understand that I am, as Weggie said. To put you up for the duration. Are you parked near by?'  
Ianto pointed to his forest green Audi.  
Jack grinned as he bounced back and forward slightly. 'And your stuff?'  
'In my car Sir.'  
'Oh, Sir, I like it. Come on, I'll give you directions.' He didn't hesitate as he bowled towards Ianto's car leaving the younger man to make his own mind up about following him.  
Jack navigated them a short distance to a terraced, detached Victorian, indicating Ianto should pull into the private drive. 'This is home sweet home.'  
'Yours Sir?'  
Jack nodded as he handed Ianto a key. 'I mostly stay at the Hub so you'll probably have the place to yourself.' He looked around after opening the door with his own key. 'Shall we collect your things then.'  
Ianto popped the car boot and Jack reached in for two of the bags.  
'Blimey, you don't pack light.'  
Ianto collected the remaining case along with two garment bags. 'There was no Recommended Equipment List Sir.' His expression and tone remaining neutral.  
'No.' Jack laughed. 'I suppose there wasn't.' He moved towards the stairs. 'I have a housekeeper, she comes by once a week usually, mainly to dust. She has her own key.' They stopped on the second floor. 'I asked her to make up a room for you.' He moved into the first room on the left. 'Has it's own bathroom so you don't have to worry about bumping into me in the hall in your jim jams.' He set the bags by a wrought iron bed as Ianto hung the garment bags in the wardrobe before peeking into the bathroom.  
'I don't wear pyjamas Sir so I appreciate your consideration.'  
Jack found himself starring at the archivists back, wondering how he was able to deliver lines like that with such a straight face. 'I'm ah, just across the way if you ever need anything when I'm here. Shall we go downstairs and I'll give you the tour.'  
Jack pointed out the utility room, dining formal lounge and sitting room but it was the kitchen that clearly caught the archivists attention. He watched as long elegant fingers moved across the marble top of the kitchen counter before feet took him to the french doors that opened into a conservatory and the garden beyond.  
'I have a chap in once a week to keep the gardens tidy.'  
'It's a lovely home.'  
Jack shrugged. 'Haven't really lived here in a while. Come on, my archives aren't sorting themselves out.'

\----------

Jack gave Ianto a swipe card for the entrance to the Hub's underground parking garage.  
'I'll take you in the back way this time.' Jack grinned. He tried get a bead on the twenty three year old man with the dead pan tone and straight face. Even as his blatant innuendos fell flat. He'd gotten Tosh to pull the man's file but it was sketchy, there was a conviction for shoplifting, a number of temporary jobs and then he'd started working for Torchwood. And as far as first impressions went, this Ianto in his perfectly fitted suit was miles away from the jeans wearing young man he'd met the night before. It was like the suit had the magic power of being able to suck the light out of the man wearing it. Still, Jack wasn't one to turn down such a blatant challenge.  
They stepped out into the Hub proper, Jack spun around, arms wide.  
'This is my Torchwood, the Hub.'  
Ianto kept a bland smile painted on. The place was a tip. It looked like an abandoned railway station that had fallen though after the blitz in the forties and been occupied by squatters for the last sixty years.  
'What do you think?'  
Ianto thought he wanted to go back in time and accept the job at the British Museum but instead he nodded politely.  
Jack shrugged. 'It'll grow on you.'  
'That's what I'm worried about.' Ianto muttered in Welsh before switching to English. 'And the archives Sir?'  
'Access to the secure archives, where I keep the really cool stuff, is in my office but everything else is down here.'  
Ianto followed him into the lower levels of the Hub, surprised to find it was dry and not as cold as he'd expected being this far underground possibly even below the Cardiff Bay.  
'We've rigged the place to keep it at a stable temperature and humidity. My.' Jack paused over the next word. 'Predecessor, had an actual archivist on staff. The woman was totally bat shit crazy but brilliant as all hell. She rigged some alien tech we found to keep the place warm and dry.' Jack gave a sad smile, he hadn't thought about Maxie in a while, she was just another in the face of the inevitability of all the deaths that stretched out around him. His sigh was wistful as he push a reinforced steel door open. 'This is the archives.'  
Ianto stepped into the cavernous room and had to force himself not to turn around and walk away. This time the mask slipped and his face fell.  
Jack shuffled on his feet, hands in pockets, tone sheepish in the face of Ianto's horror. 'We try to keep it organized.'  
Ianto shook his head and spoke before he could sensor his usually carefully considered words. 'By what system? Did someone invent a Dewy Chaos system or did you just let a teenager move in for the weekend while you all buggered off to the pub and promptly forgot.'  
'Hay.' Jack replied. 'I haven't had an archivist in here for over seven years.'  
Wiping a finger though the dust Ianto nodded. 'It shows.'  
'Yeah, well, whatever, that's why you're here.'  
'Have you considered dynamite Sir?'  
'What, no. Too dangerous anyway, what with some of the stuff in here.'  
'I thought that was in the secure archives.'  
'Yeah, the cool stuff is, not everything fits in there and we haven't exactly been on top of our cataloguing of late.'  
'What have you been doing Sir?'  
'The usual, chasing aliens and the junk that falls though the rift. And weevils.'  
'You couldn't find one to be your butler Sir?'  
Jack shook his head, he hadn't felt this put in his place since the last time he'd been late for dinner with Estelle.

Ianto gave the immediate area a quick look over before turning to Jack once more. 'Should I set bread crumbs or string to find my way Sir?'  
Jack looked at Ianto, trying to read the man's expression and found he couldn't. Even his more advanced psionic training gave him no advantage with the younger man simply stood there, face neutral under the scrutiny.  
Ianto wondered if he should point out that all Torchwood One employees received extensive psychic training or if he should let the man continue to squirm. It was tempting to point out that Jack could use some refresher training of his own.  
'Hmm.' Jack bounced on the balls of his feet. 'I'm sure you'll figure something out. Come on, on with the tour, next stop. Janet.' He led Ianto out of the archives and wound deeper into the Hub, heading to the cells. 'How, uh, junior an archivist are you?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'I'm quite capable of doing the job, Sir.'  
Jack stopped as they approached the resident weevil. 'Good, and this is Janet.'  
'No Brad Sir?'  
'She didn't strike me as a Barbara.' Jack mumbled, his punch line falling flat in the face of Ianto's quip.  
'I do know what a weevil is Sir.'  
Jack pouted as he continued showing Ianto the Hub, stopping at the kitchen.  
Ianto thought he recognized the shape of a coffee machine as it vanished under a tower of take out containers. 'Kitchen?'  
Jack nodded.  
'No Hazchem labels Sir?'  
'Nope. I'll be in my office, I'm assuming you've got an idea of where you'll start?'  
Ianto nodded as he began opening cupboards. 'Do you have any rubbish sacks Sir?'  
'Try autopsy, I think Owen got the last lot in, if you can't find any come see me and I'll get you some petty cash.'  
They both looked up as the alarm sounded.  
'Oh, yeah. Ianto Jones, meet Doctor Toshiko Sato. Tosh, this is our borrowed archivist.'  
She nodded. 'Hello, Suzie's getting coffee, Owen is.' She shrugged. 'Rough night I guess.'  
The alarm sounded once more as a mass of curls entered the room behind a tray of coffees.  
Setting her bag down Tosh grabbed the precariously stacked tray before handing a cup to a now grinning Jack.  
'Thank you Tosh.' He nodded to the second woman. 'Ianto Jones, this is Suzie Costello, my second and general weapons expert.'  
She nodded. 'There's a black coffee for you since I didn't know how you take yours.'  
'Thank you.' Ianto was genuinely surprised at her kindness.  
'Oh don't get too used to it.' She picked her own cup out before moving to her work station.  
Jack inhaled his coffee. 'Now you're here Tosh, can you set Ianto up with passwords and whatever it is you do, I'll be in my office.' He turned to watch as Tosh nodded and Ianto bowed before saying something Jack didn't recognize.  
Tosh gave Ianto a warm smile as she replied in Japanese.  
Jack, glad he was unobserved found he needed to grab the nearest desk to steady himself. Not only did he have to disguise his shock but he suddenly found himself feeling rather aroused at the way the language rolled off the Welshman's tongue. He concluded, once he felt confident enough to walk without giving himself away, that he might have to re-read the parts of Ianto's file he'd skipped over. It didn't take him long to wonder back out of his office, there were a number of gaps in the provided file with the languages spoken noted as English and Welsh. Leaving him wondering what else the London office had missed, concerning Ianto Jones.   
Ianto laughed at something Tosh said before letting his face settle back in his default setting of neutrality. He still needed to find rubbish bags so he could begin clearing away the debris and assess the coffee machine. He was hoping he could get it working so he could make the copious amounts of coffee he was going to need to tackle the archives. He had grown less confident of getting out of Cardiff in time for Lisa's birthday the more Jack had shown him.  
Jack knew Owen had arrived when the English Doctor's voice echoed though the Hub.  
'Who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing with my rubbish bags?'  
'Ianto Jones, archivist.'  
'Archi-what now? And where the bloody hell is my coffee.' Owen looked around and saw everyone staring at him. 'Well?'  
'Never mind that.' Jack called down as he began approaching his team. 'What sort of time do you call this?'  
'I call this.' Owen said. 'Too fucking early o'clock not to have a bleedin coffee.'  
Suzie rolled her eyes and pointed to a lone cup on a desk next to a computer and a stack of games. 'It's also too fucking early for this o'clock, Owen Harper.'  
'Doctor Owen Harper thank you, Ms Costello.'  
Ianto rolled his own eyes as the rat faced man began muttering about having the student debt to prove he'd spent the prerequisite time studying medicine to have earned the title of Doctor and should therefore be addressed as such as he reached for the coffee on is desk.  
Owen spat his mouthful of coffee out. 'It's fucking cold.' Looking for something to clean his computer.  
Suzie shrugged. 'Aren't we the genius.' She looked at Tosh and Jack. 'Please god is there a rift alert somewhere? Anywhere?'  
Tosh checked her computer, images flashing around the multitude of screens delineating her work space. 'Sorry, not a thing.'  
Suzie groaned before heading to her area and making as much noise as she could. Ignoring Owen's "Oi" hurled in her general direction.  
Owen harrumphed, turning back to the be-suited young man cleaning up the Hub. 'If you're the archivist, why the cleany clean?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'I'd hate anyone to activate any of the un-catalogued alien tech that's bound to be lying around here, and super-size the cockroaches that are clearly waiting for you to turn your back so they can move into your trash.' Something had jogged a memory of a report that clearly wasn't a figment of his imagination as Ianto watched Owen blush. It was a momentary sight but one Ianto knew he was going to enjoy having witnessed.  
'That was one time and it was an accident.'  
'I'm sure.' Ianto replied, having to work to keep his tone bland. Looking up he caught Jack's eye and knew the older man was enjoying this.

\----------

It took Ianto the better part of the day, including popping out to Tesco's for additional cleaning supplies and a jumbo roll of rubbish bags to get the Hub resembling clean. The others had spent a quiet day pissing Owen off and working on the stacks of paperwork revealed on their desks once the rubbish was cleared away.

Tosh and Suzie popped out for lunch, bringing enough sandwiches and packets of crisps back for everyone. They explained to Ianto that given how uncertain their days were they usually took advantage of the quiet times to ensure they didn't miss any meals. Owen of course managed to complain about everything until Ianto handed him a cup of coffee.  
Jack frowned. 'I'm the Captain, I have the stripes to prove it, so why is he getting the first one?'  
Ianto ghosted the barest suggestion of a smile at the Captain. 'Because if I accidentally poison Owen, sorry.' He paused. 'Doctor Owen, the rest of us might actually get some peace this afternoon. Since I'm not actually sure what century the coffee machine was last used in.'  
Jack just shrugged. 'Fair point.' He ignored the look on Owen's face and swiped one of Ianto's crisps, his eyes following the man's arse as he walked away.  
Owen just shrugged as he sipped the coffee Ianto had given him. He was confident if it had been poisoned he'd have enough time to take an antidote he'd worked on to cure most toxins including his hangovers.  
Ianto returned with a tray of coffees as Owen's face changed.  
'Fuck me Jack, not an invitation FYI, we need to keep this one, even if just for the coffee.'  
Jack tried his own coffee and secretly agreed. Although he'd be lying to himself if he tried to suggest it was just the coffee.

\----------

Ianto put the last cup away and checked the time, realizing it was after five PM and he hadn't even started on the archives. So much for making an impression on his first day in Cardiff.  
Having sent the rest of the team home Jack found himself watching Ianto, even as the Welshman looked up, as if sensing the scrutiny. Leaning in a door frame Jack smiled. 'I asked my housekeeper to pick up some basic groceries today, you should head home. I'm sure there will be something you can sort out for your dinner.' He frowned. 'You can cook?'  
Ianto nodded. 'Will you be coming with me Sir?' The words falling out before he could consider just how much of an invitation that was to a man who had clearly been flirting with him. Jack's thoughts made him blush at times but for all that the man's psychic shields could use work, Ianto also felt loneliness when he met the older man's blue eyes. Eyes that belied the age of the face that looked frozen in his mid thirties. 'It is your house Sir.'  
Jack considered what Ianto was offering him and nodded. 'Alright, I'll make sure the rift alerts are forwarded to my wrist strap, I'll be a few minutes if you don't mind waiting.' He waited for Ianto's nod before vanishing.  
It took them exactly four minutes and thirty seven seconds to be ready to leave the Hub. Not that Ianto had counted.  
'I took the liberty of feeding Janet.'  
'Crap, I'd forgotten about that. You know it isn't in your job description to do.'  
Ianto shrugged as he unlocked the Audi and opened the door. 'It needed doing Sir.'  
'You also don't have to call me Sir.'  
Ianto smiled but didn't reply. He suspected it wouldn't matter what he called Jack, something he refrained from saying as he drove the short distance to the house.  
Jack remembered something as Ianto parked the car and locked it. 'Your file didn't mention you speak Japanese.'  
'It wouldn't.'  
'Why not?'  
Ianto flashed a grin at the older man. 'Why doesn't your file have your real start date with Torchwood?'  
Jack stopped walking, his voice cold. 'I don't know what you are talking about.'  
'I'm a good archivist.' He continued, having debated with himself most of the day over whether or not to let Jack know what he knew. 'Captain Jack Harkness is listed in a number of documents, going back to 1897.'  
'Family name.'  
'Uncanny resemblance too, to the original Captain, I mean.' He followed Jack to the kitchen, brought up short as Jack stopped in the doorway.  
'I don't know what you think you saw.'  
'So your team doesn't know you've been on the payroll since 1897? But don't look a day over thirty six.'  
'I thought I looked thirty five, but the others, my team.' Jack closed his eyes for a moment before turning to face Ianto. 'They don't know and I want it to stay that way. I.' He took a moment to catch his thoughts up. 'I need it to stay that way.'  
Ianto considered Jack in that moment, the man's fear flashing across his face before he could school it away under a carefully contrived seductive grin. He'd learned a long time ago to notice in silence, to watch those around him and not give anything away. 'We all have our secrets Sir.'  
Jack's laugh was less forced. 'You shouldn't be old enough to have any.'  
'I'm not saying I'm Batman.'  
'I wouldn't object to you wearing a bat-suit...' Jack drawled suggestively as he gave Ianto a wink.  
Deciding to play up to Jack he grinned. 'I'm more Alfred than Batman.'  
'You do have the clothes for it, and where did you manage to find that tray?'  
Ianto just smiled as he moved to the fridge to take stock of the contents of Jack's kitchen. 'Looks like we have the makings of fresh pasta or some sort of salad.'  
'Pasta sounds fine. But about these documents you found.'  
Ianto began setting things on the bench before washing his hands before putting water on to boil. 'I had the glamorous job of transferring the older records onto the server. There were, inconsistencies, so I looked into it.'  
'And how long have you been at One?'  
'Three years.'  
'And you're still a junior archivist and scanning documents like a newbie?'  
'I have a very good memory.' Ianto shrugged. 'And you've met Reginald Gunn, Sir.'  
'Hmm, with his casting couch approach to promotions, I thought he'd been warned about that.'  
'It's hard to prove Sir but yes, I would assume my unwillingness to let the man have at me might have played a part in it. And Hartman's too busy with her ghosts to bother with the rest of us.'  
Jack's lips pursed at the mention of Hartman. 'What do you know about her ghosts?'  
'You've looked into them, you likely know as much as I do.'  
'Read that file too, did you.' Jack asked as he checked the water on the stove.  
Ianto shrugged. 'I know everything, except what they are and I don't believe they're ghosts.' He turned to Jack. 'Not that I object to the audience but perhaps you could find some plates?' He watched as the man moved away and began setting the table.  
'If you aren't willing to sleep with Weggie, is there someone else?'  
'Should be a note in my file Sir. My girlfriend works in the HR department. We notified the appropriate supervisors.'  
Jack barked a short laugh. 'We don't worry about that sort of thing so much here.'  
Ianto turned towards the older man, a single raised eyebrow the only indication of a smile. 'I could imagine the amount of paperwork that would generate if you did, even for such a small team, Sir.'  
Jack turned and looked at Ianto with a careful eye, wondering just what the younger man had picked up in the day he'd spent with them all. There was much, he decided, to be discovered about the young Welshman now in their midst.

\----------

The next morning Tosh called out a greeting as the cog door announced her presence, accepting the coffee Ianto handed her. 'I didn't ask, where are you staying?'  
'Jack has provided me with a room at his house.'  
Tosh spun around, looking for Jack, finding him leaning against a desk with his own cup of coffee. 'You have a house?'  
'I don't always live at the Hub Tosh. Besides, given our other option was shoving a cot into the autopsy room it's better than a Bn'B.' He flashed her a grin before loping away.  
She turned to Ianto. 'So.'  
'So?'  
'What's his place like?'  
Ianto gave her a half grin before he too shrugged and walked away.  
He moved into the archives and began exploring, to gage how large the area was and how full. Finding a desk Ianto began mapping the space so he could work out how best to tackle the cavernous collection of clutter he was facing. He didn't look up from his notes until he felt Jack watching him.  
'Time for lunch Ianto, we've ordered Chinese if you'd like to join us in the boardroom.' He watched as the younger man nodded before rising to his feet.  
Falling instep with Jack, Ianto sighed.   
'How long did you tell One you needed me for?' Watching as the man shrugged.  
'A few weeks but we never really specified anything.' He watched Ianto out the corner of his eye as the man gave him a resigned nod.   
'It's going to take longer isn't it.'  
'I think we both know you need someone permanent, I'm happy to train someone if you don't want someone else from One, but I have a life in London.'  
'A Welshman in London?' Jack teased. 'Give me the next two weeks and then we'll talk about my needs.'  
'All of your needs, Sir?' Ianto couldn't resist the throw away comment as they continued moving though the Hub.  
Jack frowned. 'What?'  
Ianto smiled. 'I'm not an idiot Sir and you are hardly subtle.'  
'Oh.' Jack gave Ianto a sheepish grin, one that looked not unlike a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar.  
Walking into the boardroom Jack grinned as he watched Suzie slapping Owen's hand. Grabbing a plate he handed it to Ianto. 'Better dig in before he eats them all.' Indicating the caustic doctor rubbing his hand while staring at the spring rolls.  
The silence around the table lasted only long enough for Ianto to pile his plate, napkin tucked into his collar he began eating.  
Owen leaned back in his chair. 'So, teaboy, how long you been at One?'  
'Three years.'  
'And you're an archivist?'  
Ianto nodded. 'Yes, not a teaboy. Interestingly, I have this thing called a file.'  
Owen shrugged as he forked noodles into his mouth, still speaking. 'I'm all about the personal touch me.'  
Suzie laughed. 'Hardly counts when it's touching yourself.'  
'Oi.' Owen straightened up in his chair. 'So, boyfriend or girlfriend?'  
'Owen.' Suzie shook her head.  
'What? You put a fiver into the pot, how else are we going to find out if we don't ask.'  
Ianto shook his head. 'They warn us, at One, about you lot here at Three. Her name is Lisa.'  
Tosh looked up. 'She works for One, too?'  
'In human resources.'  
Jack sat back and watched his team interacting with Ianto who seemed happy to slot into their team dynamic and it was only his second day on the job.


	2. Jammy Dodgers

Jack wasn’t sure what his favourite time of the day was any more. He used to think it was at the end of the day, after everyone else had gone home, leaving him the knowledge that they were safe. That after facing whatever the rift had thrown at them they were in their own beds. With the exception of Owen, one never really knew who’s bed he’d end up in. There was a magical quality in the silence when he was the only one in the Hub. The water feature providing white noise and he could rest assured that this had been another day the world hadn’t ended on his watch.

Now, he thought it could be waking up in his bedroom in his own home, knowing the immaculately dressed Ianto was cooking breakfast downstairs. Or perhaps it was when the young man would hand him that first cup of coffee before vanishing into the archives. Or the moment in which he caught the look on his teams faces as they too received their first cup of coffee at Ianto’s elegant hand. 

If the rift was quiet, Ianto would emerge from the archives for lunch and make a fresh round of coffee while they sat around the conference room table. There would be lies and jokes and laughter. Jack knew that wasn’t really his favorite time of the day either, it was still that point at which he gained a sense of peace in knowing everyone was going home. Which now meant he could find Ianto and they too could leave the Hub. But if he was going to reflect on this, he would have to admit that rather than a time or a feeling it was one man that provided him the greatest sense of peace. Unfortunately it was someone who wasn’t him to keep and he wasn’t sure there was any amount of hope that would keep him from having to say goodbye when the time came for Ianto to go home.

\----------

Today was Friday, Ianto had been in Cardiff for four days as he looked up when Jack sloped into the archives. 'Is it time to go Sir?'  
'I thought you were heading to London.'  
Ianto sighed. 'No. I spoke with Lisa and she's snowed under with work place reviews. Hartman does live for paperwork, she might be all green energy but it's "bugger the trees, give it to me on paper", that woman.'  
'So your back up plan is?'  
'We need more groceries and I'm visiting my sister tomorrow, I think she wants to take the kids out somewhere.' He began shutting his computer down.  
'Well I'm done for the day, I even fed Janet.'  
'That's one less thing for me Sir.'  
'I've told you that isn't in your job description. We can stop at the market on the way home.'  
Ianto looked at Jack. 'How much of the last hundred or so years have you actually spent, in Cardiff? Sir.'  
'Duno, I travelled rather a lot, but over half.'  
'So you could, reasonably, be expected to know that the market is no where near being on the way home. Unless you are coming in via Bristol.'  
'Details Ianto Jones, mere details.'  
Ianto raised an eyebrow and nodded. 'And you wonder why I wont let you drive.'  
'Whatever, put your pen away and lets go.'  
'Did Tosh talk to you about the program she's helping me with? To track your artifacts.'  
Jack shrugged. 'I may have stopped listening, what was she all excited about?'  
Ianto rolled his eyes rather than trust himself to speak.  
Jack repeated his shrug. 'I'm sure whatever it is, she will get it going and it will be brilliant.'  
'Ah and when she does, it will be that much easier for you to maintain your archives.'  
'So you can go back to London.'  
'Well, yes.'  
'We have paperwork here, you could stay, in Cardiff I mean.'  
'Not sure I see the attraction Sir.'  
'Your Lisa, she could do the paperwork and you can have the archives.' Jack watched as Ianto kept his face blank. 'You should think about it.'  
'Maybe if it was just me, but it isn't.' Ianto tucked his hands into his pockets as he walked with the older man. 'Come on, lets get to the market, groceries don't shop themselves.'  
'We could get a personal shopper.' Jack turned as Ianto was rolling his eyes. 'Or not.'

\----------

Ianto took the trolley from Jack. 'Why did I let you talk me into this.'  
'Because we needed groceries. Oh my.'  
'Jack? Did you just squeal?' Ianto watched in amazement as Jack all but pounced on a display of little marzipan covered cakes that went into the trolley along with packets of tea cakes and jammy dodgers.  
'I love these things and I did not squeal.'  
'I'm sorry, was it a manly expression of delight?'  
'Yes.' Jack pouted as Ianto rolled his eyes. 'So, what do you tell people you do?'  
'Archivist for Government funded research, official secrets act stuff.'  
'That's brilliant, and it's even practically the truth...' Jack's voice trailed off as his eyes fell on a display of kitchen appliances.  
Ianto groaned.  
'Oh my, I totally need this.' Jack picked a box up. 'I almost don't care what it is.'  
'You do not need a juicer. Other than coffee I've only ever seen you drink water.'  
'But it's so shiny.'  
'Hmm, I think we need to restrict the sugar in your coffee.' Ianto shook his head as he watched Jack pawing at boxes of appliances he had no use for. He looked from Jack to the trolley where the man had put his carefully selected grocery items. Apart from a bag of oranges there wasn't another thing in his half of the trolley that wasn't junk. Crisps, biscuits and little cakes all sat next to Ianto's fresh fruit and vegetables. Like garish clowns at the opera their bright colours mocked the nutritional value of Ianto's choices.  
Jack saw Ianto turn as he thought he'd heard the man's name being called, only to see a small child leap into the air chattering away in Welsh. He heard Ianto reply and had to revert to his default setting of thinking about puppies and spiders to not come in his pants. There was no amount of waving a Torchwood ID about that would get him out of the sort of scene it would create otherwise.  
Ianto tickled the giggling child, switching to English. 'And where is your mam young lady?'  
'Duno uncle Yan.'  
'Uncle Yan?' Jack asked, eyes dancing now he was firmly in control once more.  
'Mica Davies, this is someone I work with, Jack.'  
'Captain Jack Harkness.'  
'She's four, at her age captains are pirates and I'm not sure she needs your full title.'  
'That's not my full title.'  
Ianto was interrupted by a slightly older woman pushing a trolley of her own.  
'Mica Mariah Davies, you do not run away from me like that.' She looked to the man holding the child and nodded. 'Hello Yan, I see you found someone.'  
'She found me. Rhi, this is one of my work mates, it's his guest room I've commandeered while I'm in Cardiff.' He handed the child back to her mother. 'Captain Jack Harkness, this is my sister, Rhiannon Davies, and my niece.'  
'Nice to meet you.' She nodded as she tucked the child into the trolley, ignoring her protests. 'I've been trying to get this one to visit for ages if he wont move back.'  
'I'd like to keep your brother if I could.'  
She smiled, ignoring the look on Ianto's face. 'I wouldn't mind it, if he moved home. He's the only other family I've got, but London calls, as it were.'  
'Never saw the attraction myself.' Jack replied. 'But Cardiff, with your lovely Welsh vowels, that's a very different matter.'  
Rhi laughed. 'You're a terrible flirt Captain.'  
'I thought I was rather good.'  
'Now you've done it Rhi.' Ianto laughed as Jack began to pout.  
'He doesn't half try it on, puts Dav to shame he does.' She turned to Jack. 'Yan'll have to bring you around for tea so you can show my boy how to do that. His puppy eyes look isn't half as good as yours.'  
'I'm not sure that's a compliment.'  
Ianto nodded. 'It's not.'  
'You are still okay to pick us up at ten tomorrow? It's just Johnny's picked a few extra shifts up and you know how it is.'  
'Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.'  
She leaned in, her voice low, speaking in Welsh so only Ianto could hear. 'Bring Romeo if you like, if he's got nothing else to do.'  
Ianto turned back to look at Jack, seeing him distracted once more by the boxes of appliances. 'We'll see, I better go before he sees it.'  
'Sees what?' She asked.  
'Ianto!'  
'That.' Ianto sighed before waving to his niece and shaking his head at Jack who was trying to fit a coffee maker into the trolley. 'What exactly do you think you need that for? You can't even work the photocopier.'  
'For at home and I can so use the photocopier, you just wont let me show you.'  
'Tosh warned me about your show and tell.'  
'Well, you can teach me.'  
'Why? When I go home it will just sit on the bench in your house and collect dust.'  
Jack shrugged. 'We all leave eventually, it's my house and my money and I'm buying it.'  
Ianto shook his head, knowing they possibly looked like a couple having a domestic as he muttered in Welsh. 'But I'll be the one bloody using and cleaning it.'  
'I may not know what you said, but I'm sure it was unkind.'  
'You only know swear words in Welsh don't you.'  
Jack shrugged. 'Never seemed like a good time to learn the rest.' He looked over his shoulder. 'And if you keep rolling your eyes like that they will eventually fall out.'  
'Remind me to get Owen to give you a lecture on the orbital muscles of the human eye. So he can explain, in that so very friendly tone of his, why that's a load of bollocks.' Ianto rolled his eyes again to prove his point before following Jack.

\----------

Monday morning rolled around, with the eternal inevitability that sees weekends move so much faster than the rest of the working week. This time, Jack decided he really did have a new favourite time of day as he walked into his kitchen to find not only a full cooked English breakfast but a cup of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him.  
'I could really get used to this Mr Jones.'  
'Could, you already are and I've barely been here a week.'  
'You do look after me, I can only guess how much your Lisa is missing you if this is what you do for a default setting.'  
Ianto looked down at his own plate before reaching for the toast. 'Anticipating what others want is simply one of my skills. Butter?'  
'You really need to update your resume, it's practically written in braille it's that empty.'  
'I'm twenty three, how much do you think I could have possibly done by this stage in my life.'  
'So no uni?'  
Ianto shook his head, concentrating on his breakfast instead of answering questions about his past. The council estate his sister lived on was quite the step up from where they'd grown up as children and he didn't want to remember anything else.

\----------

Jack wondered what nerve he'd managed to hit with Ianto at breakfast. The younger man was usually a presence of wit and delightful snark but today he was just a little reserved. He held himself back from interacting with the team as he handed out coffees before vanishing into the bowels of the Hub. It worried Jack how easily the archivist was able to vanish into the background and simply blend in. The others hadn't said anything if they'd even noticed. And judging by Owen's arrival with Suzie this morning, almost on time even. They had picked up their on again, off again relationship over the last few days.  
He wondered how long it would take for them to get back to the hurled barbs and insults they usually exchanged. He didn't need a withdrawn Ianto while Suzie and Owen were engaging in the predictable dance around the disaster that their sleeping together would inevitably become. Although Owen and Suzie were both capable of getting past their train wreak fling, it was the effect it had on Tosh that was the hardest to watch. She actually liked the caustic doctor and it always took her a few days to come back to herself when Suzie and Owen slept together. He knew he could ban inter-office relationships, it had been done before, but it was even more of a disaster than the relationships invariably were themselves. So he made a note to bring an extra packet of jammy dodgers in for his technical genius and steadied himself to wait it out.

\----------

Ianto decided he'd been hiding in the Hub long enough when he felt his stomach reminding him that he hadn't had lunch and it was two pm. Jack had called out to tell him they were off to a rift retrieval so there was no one to remind him to eat. He moved out of the archives, not telling Jack that with his near perfect recall he hadn't actually needed string or breadcrumbs to find his way around. Now he'd drawn a map, he could be blindfolded and he'd still know the fastest route back to the surface. Checking if Tosh needed anything he headed to the Plass, pulling his phone out to call Lisa.  
Tosh was about to start looking for Ianto when she realized he'd been gone for an hour and she hadn't seen him come back in when the cog door rolled back. Alarm blaring as Ianto walked in with Jack. She frowned. 'Where are the other two?'  
Her question was answered when Suzie strode into the Hub, a thundercloud practically hanging over her head. Followed by Owen, carrying a containment box.  
'I said I had it covered.'  
'And I said.' Suzie snapped. 'You bloody didn't.'  
'What's the big deal, no one got shot, we're all still bloody alive and we got the, whatever the fuck Jack called it. Mission accomplished I reckon.'  
'Well I reckon you're a bloody moron.'  
'Snapping turtle's her spirit totem or Native American astrology sign isn't it.' Owen muttered to himself as he dumped the container he was carrying on a desk. 'Right, teaboy, do your archivist-y thing with this lump of moon rock will ya.'  
Ianto frowned. 'I'm not sure what you think an archivist does all day but I will not be examining your rock.'  
Owen pulled fresh gloves on and opened the box. 'It's harmless.' He picked the rock up.  
Ianto backed away. 'This never ends well, no matter how many times you slant the evidence.'  
'What, not in the job description?'  
'You forget, I have access to your files. You're a doctor, how many times can a person have their eyebrows singed off before they stop growing back.'  
'Jesus Christ, that was a one time thing.'  
'Nope.' Suzie shook her head. 'You've lost your eyebrows at least three times.'  
'Who bloody counts these things?' Owen asked, waving the rock around while Ianto and Suzie both took another step back.  
Jack folded his arms across his chest as he watched the scene before him. 'I said it's probably harmless so I'd really appreciate it, if you stopped doing that.'  
'What's the worst that could happen, really?'  
Ianto and Suzie groaned in unison, waiting for the inevitable explosion.  
In hindsight it was less an explosion and more an anti-climatic 'pop' that left Owen covered in what could only be described as vibrant orange snot.  
'Why is it always me?'  
'My guess.' Tosh said, speaking for the first time since the others had walked in the door. 'Is because you're a wanker.'  
'How does that qualify me to be the one who always gets slimed?'  
'You take risks and you don't listen.'  
'Thanks Tosh, I was thinking of that as a more rhetorical question.' Owen took the paper towels Ianto handed him and wiped his face, he looked over at Jack. 'Is this stuff dangerous?'  
Jack accepted the scanner Tosh handed to him and used it on Owen. 'Not this time although you might want to wash it off before your hair goes green.'  
Owen's face fell. 'Oh Christ no.' Turning he raced to the showers. 'It's always fucking me.'  
Smiling to herself Suzie gathered a sample and headed to the mass spec to get it analyzed.  
Jack laughed. 'It's not going to show much of anything Suzie, it's basically the alien equivalent of silly putty.'  
She turned to Jack. 'Seriously? He got slimed by alien silly putty?' She laughed. 'What a wanker.'  
Ianto turned to Jack and Tosh. 'Well that escalated quickly.'  
Jack nodded. 'Could you find his change of clothes and take it into him, I don't think any of us need to see him wearing just a towel again.'  
'You could keep lockers in the bathroom area, Sir.'  
'Where's the fun in that.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes before following after the medic.  
Tosh looked at Jack as they were left alone. 'He's right, it did escalate quickly this time.'  
'Yeah.' He nodded as he thought about the retrieval. 'It was a fairly standard exercise you know what those two are like. It never takes much.' He handed back the scanner and patted her on the shoulder. 'Come on, I'll make you a green tea, I've got some biscuits in my office.'  
'Thanks Jack.'  
He nodded as he gave her a fond smile. Of all his team she'd been the one who had most needed him. They were all like his children in a way, each damaged by their life experiences, each with something to prove. For Tosh he sometimes had to remind her that she had escaped the UNIT cell. And if it meant keeping a supply of biscuits hidden in one of his desk draws, then he was willing to do it. The fact he kept eating the biscuits and had to keep replacing the packets was just a hazard of the job.  
Suzie came over with a print out and handed it to Jack. 'It's a harmless substrate, shall we file it under silly putty?'  
'If you can fit that on the form before you go home.'  
'Thanks Jack.'  
He nodded as she headed to her own desk and reached for a new folder while he turned back to Tosh. 'Come on, I think the world is safe enough for today.'  
'Unlike your biscuits.'  
'Yeah.' Jack guided Tosh towards his office. 'Ianto was really funny about my buying them the other day.'  
'You went to the supermarket with Ianto?'  
'Was I supposed to leave him in the car?' The Welshman asked, joining their conversation. 'Although, it might have been safer.'  
'Ha, admit it, the coffee machine was a good idea.'  
'Better than buying a juicer Sir.'

\----------

By Thursday Ianto was actually optimistic he would get to London for Lisa's birthday.  
Owen shook his head. 'Famous last words teaboy.'  
'Yes but if everything does turn to shit, you won't need an archivist to sort it out until after the fact.'  
'True.' Owen agreed. 'But we would get it dealt with faster if you were on hand with the coffee.'  
Ianto gave him a brief smile. 'I'm not the butler.'  
'I've never said you were.' Owen pointed out as he headed back to the Tralothian they'd found washed up in the bay. 'I'd love to stay and chat but I've got an alien to autopsy.'  
'That should keep you entertained for the rest of the afternoon. Will Sir still be needing his nap at three today?' Ianto asked.  
'Someone's snarky, good thing you'll be seeing your ball and chain tomorrow night.'  
'Are you implying that sex makes a person less snarky?'  
'I am.' Owen nodded.  
'So if you're having as much sex as you claim you are, why aren't you nicer to be around?' Ianto smiled before walking away.  
Tosh looked up from her computer, laughing.  
'Oh shut it.' The medic snapped before storming off to the autopsy bay and his dead alien.  
Jack walked up and stood beside Tosh. 'What did I miss?'  
She grinned as she pulled the CCTV footage up. Waiting for him to laugh she wasn't disappointed. She'd always enjoyed the sound of Jack's laughter. She particularly enjoyed how much more he'd been laughing over the last two weeks. Something she put down to their borrowed archivist.  
'Ianto Jones, you saucy minx.' Jack muttered before heading to his office. 'If there's even the slightest chance of a rift emergency I'll be in my office, phoning London. Don't hesitate to interrupt me.' He looked over his shoulder at her. 'I mean that, anything at all, you come get me.'  
'Sorry Jack, nothing's brewing today.'  
He gave an exaggerated sigh before vanishing into his office and the bi-weekly teleconference with his counterparts.  
Archie at Torchwood Two, had as little time for their London office as he did. Yvonne Hartman and her delusions of clean and free energy. He knew the technology for that wasn't going to exist for another two centuries but she wouldn't listen. That and there was a reason why the pursuit of that sort of knowledge was the founding basis of several science fiction horror stories. Picking the phone up he dialled into the secure line and wondered what emergency he could manufacture this time. He considered confronting Yvonne on her ghosts, but he never knew if that would shut her down, or just encourage her to wax poetic on the advantages of the free energy they provided. Sometimes he wondered what god he'd been cursed by, to be surrounded by people like her. But she'd sent him Ianto, and the man didn't even try to spy on them and report back to London. He had of course, asked Tosh to check. It occurred to Jack that London likely had no idea of the sheer volume of secrets were hidden in the man's very attractive head. His memory alone was the sort of asset wars had been fought over, or were going to be fought over, time travel was hard on context. And then there was the coffee. He was jolted from his musing by a harsh voice yelling down the line.  
'Harkness! I said do you have anything to report from Cardiff!'  
Jack heard a thick Scottish accent cut in before Yvonne could get even more wound up.   
'Steady on there lassie, no need for an aneurysm the lad's a busy man. Not all of us sit in wee glass towers communing with the gods ya ken.'  
'Hmm, and when do I get my archivist back?' She snapped.  
'I can't keep him?' Jack quipped.  
'That depends, who did we send?'  
'Ianto Jones.' Jack heard typing followed by a dismissive snort down the phone.  
'He's hardly important, you can keep him for as long as you want. Now, about this expense report Archibald. Can you explain the increase in your stationary costs? You're one man in Scotland, how many paperclips do you really need.'  
'You wanted it itemized lassie.'  
Jack had to consider, in that single moment stretching out like forever over the phone, that Archie was just playing with Yvonne. Listening to the man speak at length about the differences between using staples and paperclips in his filing. Jack took the opportunity to finish some of his paperwork while the other two argued over paperclips. If he was to take Yvonne at her word, he could keep Ianto, but the young man wanted to get home to his girlfriend. Leaving Jack conflicted.

Ianto had a life, one that included Lisa and for all his flirting, that was one line he wouldn't cross. Of all the dilemmas he'd ever faced, this wasn't the one he thought he'd ever have the most trouble with. He might mock what to him was a puritanical approach to the pleasures of the flesh, but he respected established relationships. Leaving him with a crush on his archivist that he was unlikely to ever get to act on.


	3. Show Tunes

It didn't take Ianto long to realize on Friday, that getting back to London for his girlfriends birthday, and dinner with her parents, wasn't going to happen. Jack told him to head out early so he could miss the traffic and surprise Lisa. He was about to leave, having waited to collect a parcel from Tosh for her grandfather, when alarms began going off and flashing lights filled the Hub.  
'Oh crap.' Tosh began typing furiously as she tried to track the source of the alert while Jack appeared at her side checking his webbly was in his holster.  
Ianto was sure Jack had been in his office and it usually took at least eighty-five seconds to cross a distance that the man had all but flown over.  
'Talk to me Toshiko.'  
'Major rift spike in Splott, effecting several locations and indications of possible space radiation that shouldn't be there.'  
'None of this should be there.'

Owen and Suzie arrived with their weapons of choice and began reading the data on the screens surrounding Tosh who shook her head before facing Jack.  
'I can't tell you what it is Jack, just that there's half a dozen of them and the local constabulary has been called about some major disturbances in the area.'  
Jack wasn't happy. 'I'm going to need you on the ground with this Tosh.'  
'But.' She shoved her glasses back as they began sliding down. 'Someone has to monitor things from here.'  
Ianto felt four sets of eyes on him and rolled his eyes. 'Fine, I never told her what time I'd be getting to London. What do you need me to do?'  
Tosh turned her focus to Ianto and began speaking in rapid Japanese before pushing back from her desk and scooping a gun out of a draw. She clipped the gun to her belt and looked at the team. 'What, I think faster in Japanese.' She nodded as Ianto settled into her chair and began typing. 'See, now lets go before we have a first contact situation on our hands and a lot of upset civilians.'  
Jack shook his head. 'You lot aren't ready to know about aliens, Tosh is right, we have to go. I'm sorry Ianto, are you going to be okay here monitoring things?' Dropping his hand on the Welshman's arm as he nodded. 'Come on people, time to go.'  
Ianto felt time moving away from him with every keystroke as the distance between Cardiff and London grew. He'd been here almost two weeks and now he was directing the team via his comms unit and Tosh's electronic wizardry. This went so far beyond sorting out the archives and occasionally feeding the resident weevil when Jack forgot. It was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure, knowing the team were relying on him to provide technical back up. He pushed thoughts of Lisa aside and concentrated on his team.

Jack checked the time and tapped his comms to talk to Ianto. 'We've got them contained, if you leave now you can still get to London at a reasonable hour.'  
'Will you be long Sir?'  
He shrugged before he remembered that Ianto couldn't really see him even with the CCTV feed. 'It depends on how forthcoming our new friends are.'  
Owen looked up from the pile of luminescent purple goo he was currently trying to scoop into a bucket. 'I'm not sure forthcoming is the word I'd use Jack. And why do they always pick bloody Splott.'  
Ianto snorted as he heard Owen. 'How long have you been living in Cardiff and you still call it Splott.'  
'Well smarty pants.' Owen retorted. 'How do you pronounce it then?'  
'Sploe, the tee's would be silent.'  
Owen dumped another scoop of goo in his bucket. 'You bloody Welsh and your bloody language, you do know, teaboy, that Wales has been part of England for several hundred years don't you.'  
'I am well aware of our history of subjugation at the hands of the English, perhaps a nice celebratory cup of tea or decaf would make you feel better.''  
'Steady on mate, I was only kidding.'

It was a little after midnight when the team finally got back to the Hub where Ianto had a pot of fresh coffee at the ready and had even made sandwiches.  
'I wasn't sure how long you'd be and pizza would have gotten cold.'  
Jack patted him on the arm and nodded. 'You didn't have to stay here Ianto.'  
'But how would I be able to make Owen a cup of tea if I left?'  
'Oi.' Owen said as he shoved a sandwich in his mouth. 'I resent that.'  
Ianto looked pointedly at the medic. 'Perhaps we could repeat that, when we have finished talking with our mouth full. My six year old nephew has better table manners than you. Come to think of it, even my brother in law's table manners are better than yours.' Ianto raised his eyebrows, a small smirk on his lips. 'And he's Welsh.'  
Owen finished chewing and swallowed. 'Whatever teaboy, bring it.'  
Jack shook his head. 'Children, must we?' He turned to Tosh who was trying to hide a yawn. 'Perhaps we should get that alien goo analyzed to make sure it hasn't effected Owen.'  
Suzie snorted. 'Fat chance, sorry Jack, I think you have to accept that our good doctor is just a wanker.'  
'I'm an optimist.' Jack rubbed his hands together before picking up the mug of coffee Ianto had set before him. 'Anyway, lets get this lot tucked away so we can put our aliens to bed and follow suit ourselves.'  
Tosh looked up from her computer. 'The rest of the Hi-Alon ships have left Earth orbit.'  
'Good, they really aren't supposed to be this side of the way for another few hundred years. I hate when aliens are early.'  
'You're the one who keeps saying it all changes in the twenty first century.' Owen pointed out.  
'Yes, but it doesn't happen in Sploe.'  
'Now see, that's where your wrong Harkness, I think we both know it's always bloody happening in sodding Sploe.'  
'Go, start your tests on your alien goo or I'll get Ianto to brew up that decaf he was talking about.'  
'Easy, I said I was just teasing.' Owen grabbed another sandwich and refilled his coffee cup before winking at Suzie and heading towards the autopsy bay.

Jack sighed fondly as he finished his coffee. 'You know, if you ever wanted to throw the girlfriend over, Jones, Ianto Jones. I'd totally take you on.'  
Tosh stopped typing, frozen in place until Jack winked and Ianto just laughed as he began clearing the empty plates away.  
'Seriously Ianto, you don't have to do that.' Jack swung out of his seat and reached for the plates. 'It isn't in your job description and you are supposed to be heading to London.'  
Ianto tried to hide a yawn and shook his head.  
'Then head home and get some sleep so you wont crash when you do head to London.'  
'I don't think I could sleep now if I tried. I don't mind clearing this lot away first.'  
Jack laughed. 'You just want to make sure I don't try and file my report in your archives and stuff up your system.'  
Ianto raised a single eyebrow, smiling he took the plates back and walked towards the kitchen.  
Tosh watched Jack follow Ianto and shook her head before turning back to her computer.

Owen rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing away from the microscope as Jack stood beside him. 'Well it's sodium based, probably looking for a midnight dip in the bay and took a wrong turn somewhere to wind up in Sploe. I'm detecting high levels of luciferin, luciferase and oxygen, like in those deep sea fish that glow. Not surprising about that since it sparkles all pretty like.'  
'Is that what makes plankton glow?'  
'Sometimes, and your wee friends from tonight. Or yesterday since technically it's well after midnight.' Owen yawned as he leaned back in his chair. 'I gave up the prestige of being on call at all hours of the day and night in a hospital for this nice, cozy underground bunker and all the alien goo I could analyze.'  
Jack laughed. 'You mean all the alien goo the mass spec can analyze.'  
'Whatever Harkness. I've broken the goo down to it's chemical components, can I go home now?'  
'Home or clubbing?'  
Grinning Owen shrugged. 'I get home eventually.'  
'Note your results and file the rest, don't forget to put some of the goo in the freezer.'  
'You know.' Owen said, slipping a glove off and reaching for a pen. 'I haven't had anything to actually autopsy for a while now. It's been all, analyze this and freeze that.'  
'That's not what you said last time, as I recall.'  
'Well, how did I know that whatever the fuck that last one was would explode when exposed to the exact light-wave frequency techno thing of the lights over the autopsy table. You're the alien expert. Or is that only for one's you've shagged?'  
Jack shrugged as he grinned at Owen. 'You usually tell me you don't want me to answer questions like that.'  
He groaned. 'Fuck me, you're right, I don't. It's nearly two in the morning Jack, I'm done I tell ya.'  
'Then get your notes written down and go. And don't come in tomorrow.'  
'I wasn't going to.'  
Jack turned to walk away. 'You're on call for Sunday.'  
'Who's got tomorrow?'  
'Suzie and Tosh got their notes sorted and left an hour ago, I'll stay here tonight and I'll call them in if I need anyone.'

Jack looked around the Hub for Ianto as Owen put his samples in storage. He found the Welshman sitting on the couch under the Torchwood sign. He watched as the younger man jerked himself awake after starting to nod off. 'You're not used to these hours are you.'  
Ianto shook his head. 'It's more a nine to five job in London Sir, I think the adrenaline is wearing off now.'  
'Not the same as reading the reports is it, come on, I don't think you should drive home.' He held a hand out to his borrowed archivist.  
'I don't fancy a kip on the autopsy table and this sofa isn't that comfortable.'  
'It's not. But I have a bed in the bunker under my office, you can sleep there and I'll take old faithful here.' Jack decided it was a measure of how tired the man was as he simply rose to his feet and followed him until they were both standing in the bunker.  
Ianto looked around. 'I wasn't sure if I'd find shag-pile carpet and a revolving bed or an old army surplus cot.'  
Jack shrugged as he opened a draw and pulled a pair of drawstring cotton pants out which he handed to Ianto. 'It's a double bed, I like to be comfortable. There's a bathroom though that door.' He pointed. 'And you can borrow these since I don't think you'll want to sleep in your suit. But if anyone asks, it is just an old army cot. I don't want anyone sneaking down here for afternoon naps.'  
Ianto nodded before striping his tie and jacket off. 'I can do that, but, all innuendo aside, if you promise not to spoon I don't mind sharing the bed. You can't sleep on that sofa, you'll put your back out. I mean, a man of your age.'  
Laughing Jack considered what he was being offered as he heard Owen call out before the cog door alarm sounded, leaving them alone. 'Sure, why not. But I can't promise no cuddling.'  
'Just, hands to yourself, yeah.' Ianto waited for Jack to nod before taking his shirt off and heading to the bathroom. 'You got a spare toothbrush or do I have to find my overnight bag?'  
'Try the cupboard behind the mirror.' He waited for the door to close before stripping to his boxers and taking another pair of cotton pants out and pulling them on.  
Teeth brushed Ianto found Jack already under the covers. 'You don't waste time do you Sir.'  
'Well, usually I'm strictly a dinner and a movie kind of guy before someone gets me into bed but we do live together already.'  
Ianto snorted. 'Hardly how I'd put it.' He climbed into the bed and settled himself down as Jack turned the light off with his wrist strap before setting it beside the bed. 'Night Ianto.'  
'Night Jack.' He murmured sleepily as he pulled the pillow closer and lost himself to sleep.

\----------

Ianto opened his eyes and tried to remember where he'd gone to bed, and with whom. The body lying wrapped around his wasn't Lisa and he wasn't even in his bed at Jack's. The blue eyes looking back at him blinked as he remembered.  
'Morning Ianto.' Jack moved back slightly, bringing his hands back to his side of the bed. 'Sleep well?  
Ianto nodded. 'You have a very comfortable bed.'  
'Would it surprise you to find out that you're the first one other than me to sleep in it?'  
He considered Jack and shook his head. 'Not really. And I see you do like to cuddle.' He was met with a grin. 'But your secrets are safe with me.'  
Jack threw the blankets back and said nothing although that was his fervent hope, given how many of them the younger man seemed to know. He looked back at Ianto. 'You could still head back to London for the weekend, come back Monday.'  
'How about I make us a coffee and we make sure Owen didn't accidentally set the self destruct instead of turning the lights out when he left.'  
'Ye of little faith.' Jack quipped as he climbed out of his bunker, still in the cotton pants and undershirt he'd slept in. He checked the computers and there were no rift spikes they needed to worry about. When he looked around an immaculately dressed Ianto was heading to the kitchen and the coffee machine.  
Meeting Jack with a coffee Ianto checked the time. 'When will the girls be in?'  
'Little after ten.'  
'It's just gone nine now. Have you considered getting a few extra team members? You might actually get more weekends off if you did.'  
'That's London talk, a small team means greater control.'  
'And more likely no one will have to worry about saving for retirement.'  
Jack smiled. 'The only one I'm trying to convince to join my team is a certain Welsh archivist.'  
'Well, if this birthday dinner doesn't go well, I may have to seriously consider doing just that.' Ianto muttered into his coffee, missing Jack's hopeful grin.  
Finishing his coffee Ianto began looking around, the movement catching Jack's attention as they both heard a loud bang. It echoed though the Hub and sounded quite unlike anything Jack was familiar with based on his expression.  
'What was that?' Ianto watched as the older man shook his head before looking down at his feet. 'Yes, perhaps you should put some shoes on Sir.'  
'Yeah, I'll be right back, do you know how to use a gun?'  
'Standard operating procedure at Torchwood One, even our tea lady is armed.'  
'I've never seen you pull out your gun.'  
'I'm going to assume that wasn't a flirtation because we really don't have time if that bang was anything other than innocent.'  
'So masterful Ianto Jones.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes knowing that was exactly Jack flirting. He pointed to the bunker. 'Shoes Jack.'  
Treating him to a wink Jack vanished and returned wearing shoes and with his webbly in hand, not even sure where Ianto had gotten the gun he now held but he found it unsurprisingly erotic. Not that this was the time for such thoughts. 'I'm really hoping that the lab rats Owen lost a few months back have just decided to get frisky and it wasn't anything else. The Hub may look old and decrepit but it shouldn't be banging like that.'  
'You're not really reassuring me here Sir.'  
Jack shrugged as he moved into a point position and began creeping towards the direction of the noise. Unsure if he should be surprised that it was emanating from Owen's lab area or optimistic it was just the escaped rats. He sneaked a look back at Ianto and found him in a similar position, feet balancing his upper body and the gun moving with his eyes as the archivist surveyed the area around them. Quartering the space as he moved with liquid precision. Jack had to remind himself there was an unexpected noise to investigate and he could consider just how homoerotic he found his current predicament, later. When there was time, after establishing that they weren't going to die. And since unlike himself, Ianto wasn't going to come back from that, he had to concentrate to make sure his archivist didn't get killed before he could head back to London.

Stepping into Owen's lab Jack frowned as Ianto moved up beside him. They both looked at the standing freezer with its door bulging outwards like a spoiled can.  
'Uh, Jack?' Ianto watched out the corner of his eye as the team leader shrugged.  
'Hell if I know what he usually keeps in there. Last thing that went in was the goo sample from yesterday.'  
'Is it possible yesterday's goo has some sort of exothermic or endothermic property?'  
Jack shrugged. 'Captain not scientist, that's why I have Tosh and Owen on my team.'  
'Well as the Captain I vote you open the freezer door, ranking field officer and all.'  
'Oh you are a smart arse Ianto Jones.'  
Ianto smirked. 'I thought you liked that about me.'  
Jack looked at him, wondering if Ianto was flirting with him or if he was always like this in the face of uncertainty and possible death. Giving Jack an encouraging smile Ianto shooed him towards the freezer, his gun never wavering.  
Bracing himself he flung the door open and stepping back as a basketball sized ball of goo wobbled out of it's confinement.  
'Oh crap.' Ianto looked around and wondered what he could use to try and contain the now moving mass. 'Ah, Sir?'  
Jack pushed a button on his wrist strap and barked a command as he too looked around for something, anything they could use to capture the goo. 'The others will be here soon.'  
'What do you expect us to do in the meantime, sing it show tunes?'  
'Are you panicking Ianto?'  
'I'm a bloody archivist, I deal with folders and artifacts and my pervert boss, I'm not a field agent.'  
'You are referring to Weggie and not me in that, right?'  
'Now is not the time for a crisis of confidence Jack.' Ianto moved back as the goo advanced on him, still maintaining is ball like form. 'The field agents keep asking me out on a trial run and I keep saying no. I like my archives, I don't need to save the world.'

Jack wondered what he'd missed if the field agents kept courting the archivist for their team but he agreed that this wasn't the time to worry about things like that. It also crossed his mind, and not for the first time, that Yvonne Hartman had no idea of the sort of man her junior archivist really was.  
'I'm going to take a stab in the dark Sir and suggest this thing grew in the cold, or did Owen put the entire goo collection in the freezer?'  
'Not sure, why? Have you got a hair dryer handy that we can try zapping it with?'  
'You don't think my hair is this perfect by accident do you Sir.'  
Jack gave Ianto a quick look along with a shrug as the archivist rolled his eyes. 'I'm not sure I want to do any stabbing in the dark, not on a first date at any rate. If it grew in the freezer we don't know what it might do if we shove it in the microwave.'  
Ianto nodded. 'Perhaps you are right, besides, how we would get it in the microwave is a bit beyond me right now.'  
Moving backwards Jack spotted one of the lidded buckets Owen used for medical waste and secured his webbly before grinning as he grabbed the bucket and dumped it over the goo to trap it. 'If we can slide something under the bucket we can invert this thing and put the lid on it.'  
Ianto nodded as he moved back. 'Sure, and what was in that bucket?'  
'Why do you ask?' Jack looked down as the bucket that had been by his feet rose to waist height and kept growing. 'Oh.'  
'That pretty much sums it up.' Ianto nodded as Jack dived out of the way.

Which is the precise moment Owen walked into the Hub with Suzie and Tosh before the lock-down alarms began ringing and the lights flickered.  
'Bloody hell Harkness, I leave you alone in the Hub with the teaboy for one night.'  
'I've missed you too Owen, what the hell was in that bucket by your desk?'  
'Last thing was probably bleach.' He didn't have to look to Tosh to see her move towards her computers or to know Suzie was reaching for her biggest gun. 'What happened Jack?'  
'The goo in the freezer grew to basket ball size and began moving towards us.'  
Ianto picked himself up from where he'd also dived to one side and joined the conversation. 'The Captain dropped the bucket over it to contain it, and it grew.'  
Tosh looked up from the scans she was running. 'Based on Owen's samples the goo reacted to they hydrogen peroxide residue in the bucket.'  
'But what made it grow in the freezer?' Jack asked.  
Owen shrugged. 'How should I bloody know, it's not like I can google this shit can I. And we didn't exactly cover alien xenobiology when I was at med school.'  
'But you were an intern at Cardiff Infirmary. They deal with aliens all the time.'  
'Not on bloody purpose. And not helpful.'  
'Well best you check your other samples then, to see if any more of them have grown while Ianto and I go and find a blow torch or a hair dryer or something.'  
'That could work if it grew in the cold. No point putting it back in the freezer is there.'  
'Jack.' Suzie called out as she tossed him a cylinder. 'I've been working on this, it might help.'

Ianto moved over to stand by Tosh. 'I'm sure I saw this in a movie.'  
'Why, have you got any head and shoulders we can try on this thing?' She replied. 'I was thinking the same thing.'  
'I don't as it happens. I could have been having breakfast in bed with my girlfriend if I was in London right now.' He sighed as he moved to another computer and began a search of the mainframe archives. 'I'll see if they've encountered this before shall I.'  
Tosh watched as he entered a series of passwords until he was accessing the servers of both Torchwood One and Two. 'Okay, I'm a bit jealous now.'  
Ianto grinned. 'I'm good at my job, what did you say the aliens were?'  
'Jack called them Hi-Alon.'  
Ianto typed a number of variations into the Torchwood search engine. 'Who needs google.' Muttered in Welsh as he began scanning the results.  
Tosh grinned, even if the only word she understood was google but she'd tried that when they'd arrived back at the Hub the night before and found nothing.  
Ianto stepped back from the keyboard and shook his head. 'That's boarder line useless, there's nothing but a note that says, mostly friendly but not to put them in the freezer. The rest of the file is noted as lost in a fire in 1902. Apparently the chaps in Scotland had a choice between saving the rest of the files or the whiskey.'  
Tosh giggled. 'I hope the whiskey was worth it.'  
Ianto's smile was brief and faded as he turned to the autopsy bay and saw Jack shooting a blue flame at the goo creature. 'Tosh...'  
'Yes?'  
'Duck.' He pulled her down as the creature seemed to wobble before turning opaque and exploding. They were far enough away from the explosion to avoid flying goo debris but Owen, Jack and Suzie were not.

A scream sounded, which Tosh identified as Owen. The medic was scrubbing at his face while trying to strip his clothes off and run to the bio-hazard shower at the same time. Instead he managed to face plant into even more of the now powdered goo.  
Ianto rolled his eyes as he surveyed the scene. 'Should I find the dust buster Sir? And some rubbish bags.'  
'Dust buster I think.' Tosh added, smiling at the now purple head of curls surrounding Suzie's stunned face. While Jack just leaned against a railing and grinned. 'And who's going to volunteer to wash my back for me? Toshiko? Ianto?'  
Ianto shook his head before disappearing. He returned wearing yellow washing up gloves and a plastic apron, carrying his bucket of cleaning supplies and a mop. 'I'll start on the clean up then Sir, and might I suggest we incinerate the remains.'  
Jack nodded before sauntering towards the showers. 'Just as well I wasn't wearing my coat.'  
'No, I rather like your coat.'  
Jack looked over his shoulder and grinned. 'Do you?' He winked at Ianto before looking at Tosh. 'Perhaps you can find everyone's spare clothes and bring a few bio-hazard bags with you. We shouldn't take any chances.'  
She nodded before moving towards the lockers.

Ianto lost himself in cleaning every speck of powdered goo up from the Hub. He wasn't willing to risk it melting back together or getting into the drains when they didn't know what reaction introducing it to either the sewers or the Bay would have on it's biology. It may be totally harmless. Or they could wind up with some sort of mutated weevil-shark hybrid to terrorize locals and tourists alike. He couldn't see that going over well with the Cardiff Tourism Board. He wasn't even close to finishing when the others finally joined him. Having scrubbed themselves pink they too donned gloves and aprons and began cleaning.

Ianto leaned a number of things on that Saturday spent cleaning the Hub. Chiefly among them being that a hung over Owen was not a sparkly member of the human race. He was even more caustic and rude than usual. Mainlining Ianto's coffee and stuffing a greasy bacon sandwich into his mouth hadn't improved his mood. Personally Ianto wondered if he had inhaled his food so quickly it had given him indigestion.  
Jack tried to send Ianto home so he could still get to London, but looking at the time Ianto shook his head.  
'I called Lisa when I got our lunch, she wasn't happy but she understood.' Thinking it was just as well he'd posted her present a few days previously so she'd at least opened it when they had spoken. He suspected he was going to be buying her something extra, and possibly shiny to make up for it.  
Tossing his gloves into the trash bag Jack decided they had the place cleaner than when it was new. 'She should come down here for a weekend. See how we do it Cardiff styles.'  
Suzie laughed. 'Cardiff styles? I thought Owen was the one who fell over this morning and hit his head, not you.'  
'Oi, I didn't hit my head thank you very much.'  
'I happen to be very hip and up with the play.' Jack pointed out. He knew his second and his medic had a somewhat hot and cold relationship but he didn't have the energy to deal with it right now. 'Besides, we're just about ready to set this lot on fire and then we're done for the day I think.' He watched his team nod as gloves and aprons were dumped into the bag and cleaning supplies were put away.  
With the last bag thrown into the incinerator Jack turned to Ianto. 'If you wanted to take off for London, you could come back Monday. I know you'd miss dinner but you could still see Lisa.'  
Yawning Ianto shook his head. 'Even if I caught the train I'd be too tired to pay her any kind of attention and she's booked herself a spa day tomorrow, she does it every year for her birthday.'  
'You know what that means.'  
Ianto shook his head.  
'It means, if the others haven't left yet, we might be able to talk them into karaoke.'  
'I'd ask if you were being serious but I'm not sure I want to know.'  
'You'll think about it?'  
Ianto shook his head. 'I just want to go home, have a bath and do some online shopping to try and get out of the bollocking I'm going to get for missing not only Lisa's birthday, but meeting her parents. Again.'  
'I thought you said she understood.'  
'You haven't lived with a woman for a while have you Sir.'  
'Well no, it's probably been over thirty years truth be told.' Recalling the year he'd spent with Lucia before she'd kicked him out and kept him from his daughter.  
'There's always a cost to a woman's understanding.'  
'And Lisa's?'  
'Shoes and jewellery.'  
Jack watched his archivist walk away, shoulders dropped a little, looking tired and rumpled. He may not have lived with anyone for some time, not aging made relationships difficult after a while but even when he'd been married, his wife had understood. What he didn't remember, was if there had ever been a cost to that understanding.


	4. Fish Fingers

'And then.' Jack laughed as they moved though the Hub. 'The Brigadier looked at Hartman and said; I didn't ask for your nomination for an OBE, just your report.'  
Ianto's laugh stopped short as he walked into the kitchen. 'Wha-?'  
'Ianto?' He peered around the man's shoulder in confusion.  
'I sodding well cleaned this place up.' Indicating the collection of take out containers now littering the bench along with a pile of plates, cups and assorted cutlery. 'There is a dishwasher, they do know this don't they?'  
Jack shrugged. 'I guess so.'  
'Right, okay, I'll be in my archives then.'  
'Um, Ianto?' He watched as the man turned towards him, the smile chilling.  
'Yes?'  
The tone sounded sweet but Jack wasn't fooled, deciding what he was about to say really wasn't that important. 'Nothing, I'll be in my office if you need anything.'  
'Not likely.'

Jack sighed as Ianto strode though the Hub, vanishing into the archives. The highly efficient young man had been a borrowed part of their team for a short time and he'd already made his presence felt. He'd stayed when he could have headed to back to London as they'd dealt with what they were all calling the Powdered Alien Goo Incident. He had even cleaned the Hub up, unfortunately the rest of the team hadn't really taken all that long to mess it up again. Thanks to Ianto, Tosh was able to access more of their records though the mainframe, and Ianto sharing his log-on for the main Torchwood servers was invaluable. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was a very attractive young man who made orgasmic coffee and the Welsh vowels made him all but swoon. Jack sighed at the direction his thoughts were moving in and stopped it there, least he have to pop down to his bunker for some alone time.  
Instead Jack surveyed the Hub, which was fast becoming the same disaster zone that had offended the Welshman's sensibilities upon his initial arrival. Tosh and Suzie had maintained their work stations, which he decided was an improvement, but the number of plates on the kitchen bench couldn't have been solely Owen's. Jack shook his head as he contemplated life absent Ianto's coffee, thankful he'd at least brought a coffee machine for home use. He was even hoping that one day Ianto would actually let him use it.

Right now however, he had to concede that the man had a point, he'd sent Ianto home early on Monday with Tuesday off. Ianto had called Lisa about coming to London for the night but she had been unable to arrange time off work so told him to spend time with his family instead. In the space of that absence, the background clutter of the Hub had morphed into a full on mess. He was tempted to intervene but instead Jack decided to let it play out and see what would happen.

Tosh arrived promptly at eight thirty and called out her hello before looking around the Hub. There was usually a coffee waiting for her but today there was only an empty cup leftover from Monday. Suzie followed a few minutes later, she too had a quick look around the room before heading to her work station. But it was the arrival of Owen that put everything into play as the medic strolled in at nine twenty. Pie in one hand and a giant energy drink in the other as he too looked around.  
'Oi, where's my fucking coffee?' Tossing the empty can at a bin and shrugging as it bounced out, clattering to the floor.  
Drawn by an inner sense of timing Ianto chose that exact moment to emerge from the archives.  
'Teaboy, didn't you hear me?'  
Ianto smiled. 'I think they heard you out in the Plass.'  
'Yeah alright, coffee, now.' He paused. 'Please.' Added as an after thought as an inner sense of doom suggested something wasn't quite right.  
The next word out of Ianto's mouth stilled the Hub.  
'No.'  
Jack watched his team. Tosh looked disappointed, Suzie shrugged but Owen puffed up.  
'What?'  
'I said no, Owen. I'm sure it's a word you're familiar with.'  
'Steady on mate.'  
Ianto shook his head and pointed at the pile of energy drink cans lying on the floor around the bin. The same brand as the one Owen had just tossed at the bin and left where it fell. 'I did not make that mess, and as it happens, I have checked my job description. It says Archivist, not teaboy and certainly not cleaning lady.'  
Jack watched as Ianto's smile never wavered, it never reached his eyes and like his steady gaze, it never warmed up. He wasn't surprised to watch Ianto simply walk away from the spluttering medic.  
Owen looked over at Jack as if asking him to do something, getting no response he shrugged. 'Teaboy will break before I do.' He tossed the last of his pie in the bin and headed to his own work station.  
Tosh sighed as she gazed after Owen, a look of longing that left Jack wondering if it was her crush on the medic, or if it was for the coffee Ianto wasn't making. Jack also wondered who would indeed break first, his medic or the archivist.

It only took the two days until Friday, for Jack to get an answer to his question as he walked into the Hub to find Owen wearing a pinny and pair of yellow washing up gloves. What he hadn't anticipated was Tosh and Suzie standing side by side, arms folded across their chests as they watched Owen. Who was currently muttering and cursing up a storm as he loaded the dishwasher. Rubbish bags filled with empty cans and to go coffee cups were stacked to one side while Ianto sat on the sofa under the Torchwood sign and sipped from a cup. Setting it on the saucer as Jack walked in, Ianto nodded in greeting. His smile soft as he looked over at Owen and reached for a pastry on the plate next to him.  
Jack joined Ianto on the sofa and reached across the young man for the last pastry. 'Who broke first?'  
Ianto's laugh was pitched low and Jack found he had to think of phone calls to UNIT and filling out reports to avoid all the blood in his brain pooling in his groin.  
'I suspect it was Tosh, if you check the CCTV footage you may find your proof. She might look delicate and act ladylike but she's made of sterner stuff.'  
Jack grinned. 'Oh I know, that's why I picked her for my team.'  
'Either way, I walked in to find her and Suzie standing over Owen, the pinny was my idea.'  
'Does this mean you'll be making coffee again?'  
Ianto took his cup and nodded before taking a sip. 'I'm here to clean the archives, not your kitchen.'  
'Oh that's something I don't think Doctor Harper will be forgetting that any time soon.' Jack chuckled. 'I hope the girls took some photos.'  
Ianto nodded. 'I believe you should check your emails Sir.'  
'And are you going back to London tonight?'  
'Ah no, Lisa is off to the Costa Brava with a couple of her girlfriends. They take turns picking different beach resorts and go away for the weekend every now and again.'  
'And do you get a boys weekend?'  
Ianto shook his head. 'Not my thing.'  
'So what would you have been doing for the weekend?' Jack watched as Ianto's cheeks coloured. 'Ianto Jones, what is your guilty pleasure?'  
'James Bond movies.'  
Jack leaned back laughing. 'Oh I should have known, Jones, Ianto Jones. Well don't let me stop you, I'll even get the popcorn in.'  
Ianto grinned. 'I did bring a few DVD's with me.' He looked up as he saw Owen walking towards him, stripping his gloves off.  
'Oi, teaboy, I've cleaned your damn "it's not in my job description" kitchen. Now make me a bloody coffee.' Stripping the pinny off he tossed it in a bin. 'Please?'  
Setting his cup down Ianto rose to his feet and nodded. 'Of course.'

\----------

Ianto walked back into the Hub carrying dinner for the team while talking on his phone. 'Lisa, it's Monday, I don't know what's going to happen by the weekend but of course I'll try to get home on Friday night.'  
'I haven't seen you for over three weeks now, and you missed my birthday.'  
He debated pointing out he had been given time off to see her last week but she'd told him to stay where he was. 'I know, I wanted to be there.' He heard the sound of their flat intercom as Lisa's footsteps echoed though the phone, her cousin's voice calling a hello.  
'Look, I have to go. Sandy's here, she wants to try a new tapas bar that just opened.'  
'Okay, and I will try and get back this weekend.'  
'Yeah, I know.'  
Ianto ended the call, tucking his phone away as he set the plastic bag with dinner onto the conference room table.  
Owen looked up as he was handed his kebab. 'You're late.'  
'They took as long as they usually do Owen.'  
'No.' He unwrapped his kebab, about to take a bite. 'The Phone Call. You usually ring her earlier than this.'  
'Yeah.' He sat down with his own kebab as the others moved in to join them, their meals placed in their usual seats. 'Busy day all round really.'  
Since their show down over the mess in the kitchen, the archivist and medic had worked out a begrudging friendship. They still existed on a steady diet of snark and caffeine but Owen now put his cup in the dishwasher at the end of each day. He also put his rubbish in the bin, rather than tossing it in the general vicinity and operating more on good luck than good aim to get it in. The threat of Suzie and Tosh absent Ianto's coffee, was more than enough for him to toe the line.

Tosh looked up from her salad and reached for the hummus. 'When is Lisa coming to Cardiff? I know I'd like to meet her.'  
Jack was the only one close enough to hear Ianto's sigh, knowing this was a bone of contention between them. He even felt a little guilty at how much he enjoyed having Ianto around, knowing there was no fixed end date in sight even after three weeks.  
'I've asked her to come to Cardiff, but she has a busy social life in London.'  
'And how did the two of you meet?'  
Owen nodded as he pointed his kebab at Suzie. 'Excellent question.'  
Tosh rolled her eyes. 'They both work for Torchwood in London, how do you think they met.'  
'Are you expecting me to believe.' Owen scoffed. 'That their eyes met over the fish fingers in the company cafeteria and it was love at first sight?'  
'They don't serve fish fingers in the cafeteria any more.' Jack cut in. 'Not since the incident involving the Dakakan in the late nineties. I mean how was I supposed to know their visiting scientist would be offended by how I ate my fish fingers.'  
'To be fair Jack.' Suzie pointed out. 'I don't think it would have made much difference what you'd been eating. They say Nigella Lawson does food porn but she's got nothing on you.'  
'What, I like food.' He grinned, not looking at all offended. 'Besides, I made it up to said visiting scientist, several times, as I recall.'  
Ianto frowned. 'I wasn't aware Dakakan and human's had compatible anatomy. And never mind the slime they produce when they get too dry.'  
Jack winked. 'Self lubricating.'  
'Oi, Tosh, grab the keyboard and whistle us up the file on these Dakakan's I don't even know what they look like.' Owen smiled as he nodded his head encouragingly.

Tosh looked to Jack who gave her a nod and a shrug as Ianto handed her the wireless keyboard. She began typing until they were all looking at an image of something straight out of a cartoon. The Dakakan had what looked like tentacles for legs, no real shape to the body and gills on the side of it's distinctly fish like head.  
'Well no wonder the walking sushi bar didn't like you eating fish fingers.'  
Jack grinned. 'That wasn't what it said when I'd finished with it. They are a hermaphrodite species that live mainly on a damp, swampy planet that does terrible things to my hair. It's the high humidity.'  
'Jesus in a dress Harkness, thank Christ we aren't eating sushi right now.'  
Jack shrugged. 'You asked.'  
'Well I wish I hadn't now. Turn it off Tosh, I don't want to know any more.'  
Ianto hid a grin as he concentrated on his kebab. He knew the team weren't sure what of Jack's stories to believe, and what were exaggerations or even total lies. He wondered how they would feel if they knew the man very rarely exaggerated anything.

Owen looked back at Ianto. 'But you haven't answered the question, how did you meet Lisa, in fact, based on your resume, how did you even get a job at Torchwood in the first place?'  
Jack watched Ianto, hoping the man would answer the questions he'd been considering himself since meeting the Welshman.  
Ianto shrugged. 'I was working in a cafe near Canary Wharf and this woman kept coming in for coffee, she looked like a model.' He smiled as he pulled his phone out, scrolling though the menu to find a photo of Lisa. 'We started talking and she told me her boss was looking for some entry level staff to help with some filing. I eventually went in for the aptitude testing and they hired me, which was about three and a half years ago.'  
'So.' Tosh looked like she was calculating the maths. 'That means you've been working for Torchwood longer than all of us except Jack.'  
Ianto nodded. 'I believe so.'  
Owen handed the phone to Suzie and gave a low whistle. 'She's wasted on you teaboy.'  
Ianto took his phone back. 'I wonder sometimes but she's the one I can see myself marrying.'  
Jack clapped him on the shoulder. 'Hold onto that Ianto.'  
'And keep her away from Jack and fish fingers.' Owen said, nodding.  
Tosh smiled at Ianto. 'Well I think it's sweet.'  
'That, Tosh.' Owen reached for his coffee. 'Is because you're a romantic in a cynical world.'  
Suzie smiled. 'I think it's nice that anyone can do this job and still believe in love.'  
'You don't?' Tosh asked.  
She shook her head. 'No Toshiko, I do not.'  
'When did you stop believing in love?'  
'Probably about the time my mother left my father and me, for the mail man.' She shrugged. 'Kind of hard to believe the whole fairy tail after something like that.'

\----------

After Owen finished putting the dishwasher on for the evening he turned to Tosh and Jack who were currently huddled at her desk. 'So where's this rift storm that's kept us here past our bedtimes?'  
Tosh looked over her glasses at him and shrugged. 'It's not that late, nor is it an exact science predicting rift activity you know.'  
'Why not? They can predict the weather pretty accurately these days, can't you use the same algorithms for the rift or something?'  
'First of all.' Suzie looked up from the sofa and the book she was reading. 'This is Cardiff, if you tell everyone it's going to rain you're probably right, nothing special about that. You've been watching too much television again.'  
'No, I reckon it's a reasonable question. Why can't she use weather forecasting software to predict the next rift cluster fuck.'  
'Because there isn't a database of rift activities and a matching satellite to accompany the historical data behind that sort of prediction based software. And.' Suzie pointed out. 'This isn't about reading weather patterns in atmospheric conditions.'  
'Why can't we have a satellite?' Owen asked.  
'I am working on compiling the historical data relating to rift activity so I can factor that into my prediction algorithms, Ianto's been helping me put that together.' Tosh interjected. 'But since the rift is fixed here in Cardiff and not at the other end, it's only ever going to be about a best guess for now.'  
'So we're stuck twiddling our thumbs when we could be out there, in the real world, having sex. With actual people.' Owen dropped onto the sofa next to Suzie and turned to her. 'How about it Costello, fancy tripping a ride aboard Doctor Owen's thermometer? I could take your temperature.'  
'Have you been taking those pills again, the one's that are supposed to make you funny, or did you finally get your money back? You really should stop shopping online.'  
'Now who's being funny.'  
She picked her book up and glared at him before she began reading.  
Owen shrugged. 'What about you tea boy? You look pretty fit.'  
'I am rather fit, but I don't believe the world has ended.'  
'Your loss mate.'  
'Oh I highly doubt that.' Ianto muttered in Welsh.  
'Children, children, children. I'm the one who's supposed to make the bad jokes like taking someone's temperature with my thermometer. And I'm the only one who should be flirting with our archivist.'  
'Ah, I am in the room.'  
'Yes Ianto, you are. But I'm pulling rank over this. The rest of you are to stop flirting with Ianto, immediately.' He watched as Ianto nodded and gave Owen a look and a shrug as if to say, "sorry, Captain's orders". 'But if this rift spike doesn't happen soon you can all go home.'  
'Define soon, Harkness.'  
Jack was about to respond when the rift alarm sounded. He shrugged instead. 'Tosh? Talk to me.'  
Owen snorted. 'Whatever it is, I hope it's not in bloody Splott again.'  
She shook her head. 'It's pronounced Sploe, and no, it isn't there this time.'  
'Then were is it, and what is it and do I get to shoot at it?'  
Tosh's eyes grew wide as she confirmed the location. 'It's ah, about to happen in the Plass.'

Jack looked over her shoulder. 'Oh yeah, so it is.' He grinned as he turned to his team. 'Gear up kids and don't say I don't take you anywhere nice.'  
'But you don't take us anywhere nice.' Owen said as he checked his gun was loaded and secure in his holster before checking his medical kit.  
'There's always one.' Jack muttered before turning to Ianto. 'So um, since it's in the Plass you better stay here. As masterfully as you wave your gun around, I don't want you out there.'  
Ianto snorted. 'I think you over estimate my desire to get shot at Sir. I'm quite happy to stay here.'  
Tosh looked up from her computer. 'Do you need me in the Plass?'  
Jack shook his head. 'Keep the comms on, both of you, and we'll check it out.'  
Ianto watched as Tosh followed the team on the CCTV feed. 'Any idea what it is yet?'  
'I'm getting an atomic energy signal.'  
Jack clicked his comms on. 'What chemical signature is it Toshiko?'  
'I'm getting molybdenum and fluorine with traces of colbalt.'  
'Sounds like our visitors are from the Vanoxian Sector.'  
Owen also joined the conversation. 'From your tone and the look on your face Jack I'm not getting to shoot anything am I.'  
Jack laughed as he turned to the medic, holstering his webbly. 'That would be a no Owen, Tosh, how much colbalt are you picking up?'  
'It's at two parts per million, is that important?'  
'All details are important. It's likely a family ship, something that holds between four and ten Anoxian. How long before they reach atmosphere?'  
'You should be getting a visual any minute.'  
Suzie turned, surveying the night's sky. 'I'm assuming that isn't a shooting star.'  
'Nope.' Jack agreed. 'No point making a wish on that. Tosh, we have our visual.' He grinned as a cloud of dust the size of a mini cooper landed at their feet.  
Ianto's voice came out across the comms units. 'We may have found your people Owen.'  
'What are you on about teaboy?' Owen frowned as he watched a hatch open.

Ianto grinned as he read though the data on record concerning the Anoxian, he had presumed there was a file because Jack knew what they were. He found a small mammalian species about two feet tall that looked like a cross between a fox and a weasel but without a tale. The file noted a strong familial link often seen in travel groups and other than sharp teeth, they were apparently harmless.  
Tosh sighed softly as she shook her head at Ianto, clicking her comms off so only the archivist could hear her. 'He's not going to be happy.'  
Ianto snorted, his comms also muted. 'Does he even know how to be happy?'  
'Your coffee is the closest thing I've ever seen to anything that's made him smile in the time I've known him.'  
'Ah.' Ianto smiled as he heard Owen's voice filled the comms channel.  
'Oh you are a funny bastard tea boy.'  
Tosh turned back to the CCTV footage as they saw Owen shaking his head as the Anoxian removed it's helmet. 'Yeap, he's worked it out.'  
Ianto shrugged. 'It was an inevitable conclusion to reach.'  
'Laugh it up, you just wait for your next physical.' Owen looked at a camera in the Plass and nodded to Ianto.  
'I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of the decaf I was making you. Could you repeat that, Dr Harper?'

Tosh didn't even try to hide her grin at the completely straight look on Ianto's face. She wondered how he did it, he said the most outrageous things yet there was almost no expression on his face. Did he practice in the mirror she wondered or had life carved Ianto into the form of a classical study of man in marble. Poised in his three piece suits and brightly coloured shirt combinations, with the small, barely there smile. And eyes, no statue could capture the mischief dancing in those eyes. Eyes a rival to Jack's for all they laughed but looked so old.  
And then there were the exchanges between Jack and Ianto that left her wanting to squeal like a fan girl. She had, at times considered that if it not for Ianto's girlfriend, would Jack do more than just flirt with the intriguing younger man. She shook her head as she focused on tracking the team out in the Plass. Jack was speaking to the six visiting alien's who had disembarked from their ship. They communicated in a series of squeaks and chirping barks as they gestured with what she hoped was excitement as Jack crouched to their level. Producing what she took to be travel documents for Jack to look over they then filed back into their ship before vanishing out into the night's sky. Presumably to resume their journey as the rift was still open.  
She hoped they got back where they belonged, they looked cute but their teeth were visible on the CCTV footage and looked like they could chew though concrete. They wouldn't be the easiest aliens to try and blend into living with humans if they had to stay.

Jack lead Owen and Suzie back into the Hub via the hidden lift and found Ianto relaxing on the sofa with cups of coffee waiting on his tray. Owen crossed the distance first and paused before reaching for his customary mug. One that proclaimed him the world's sexiest Doctor.  
'This isn't decaf now is it?'  
Ianto shook his head. 'Would I do that to you?'  
Suzie barked a laugh. 'Yes.' Reaching for her own mug of Ianto's elixir like coffee. It was a pale pink mug showing Hello Kitty holding a hand gun, she'd found it in the back of the cupboard her first day on the job and claimed it as her own.

Jack's usual cup, blue and white striped, was the only one left on the tray as Ianto crossed his ankles and sipped his own cup of coffee. Looking like he knew the world's secrets he smiled over his delicate white cup while holding the saucer in his other hand. 'Crisis averted I trust.'  
'This time.' Jack grinned. 'Anyway, you lot, finish your coffee and go home.'  
Owen snorted. 'Home? I'm off to the pub.'  
'On the pull Owen?' Suzie asked.  
'Jealous?'  
She shook her head. 'No, just like to know which bars to avoid so I don't have to watch you getting slapped.'  
'No one slaps me darling, unless I ask them to.' He winked before finishing his coffee and heading to the kitchen.  
Suzie just shook her head. 'What was I thinking?' Before she too finished her coffee. 'Well good night all. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe this time we'll find an alien that will take Owen off our hands.'  
Tosh sighed softly but said nothing as she set her mug of green tea down and turned back to her computers.

Jack exchanged a look with Ianto and nodded. 'Toshiko Sato, you should come home with us. I have a spare room and Ianto has the entire collection of James Bond dvd's, with commentaries. I think you should join us for the rest of the evening.'  
She spun her chair back around to face her boss. 'Hang on, you're inviting me to your house?'  
'I believe so.' He slipped an arm around her shoulders. 'Since no one got to blow anything up the evening feels somewhat anticlimactic. So come home with us and we'll live vicariously though the bad science of seventies action movies.'  
'I believe we are up to George Lazenby's 1969 film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sir.'  
'Fine, we're up to 1969. Which was an excellent year to be on the Secret Service as I recall.'  
Tosh laughed, never quite taking Jack seriously with a comment like that as she nodded. 'Alright, but do you have popcorn.'  
'I should have a few bags left over from the weekend.' Jack held his arm out to Tosh. 'Come on, Ianto will drive us home and we shall find out together.'  
'Does Ianto always drive?'  
Jack pouted as he nodded. 'He refuses to let me drive. He's no fun Toshiko.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes as he collected his now empty coffee cup up, and followed Jack and Tosh though the Hub.

Back at Jack's, after Tosh explored the house they sat watching the movie while Ianto laughed. Tosh and Jack were both throwing popcorn at the television at the idea the lead protagonist, Blofeld, was able to brainwash women into tampering with the food supply. Both giving their own reasons why his plans wouldn't work.  
'You are so cleaning that up, and I am going to stop watching movies with you two if you don't stop it.'  
Tosh sat between the two men. 'I'm sorry Ianto but the plot holes in the science.'  
He cut her off. 'No Tosh, it's a movie.'  
Jack nodded. 'He wont let me talk if we're watching anything with aliens in it either.'  
'Well if you didn't spend the majority of the movie telling me what's wrong with the alien or about their sex lives I'd probably let you talk.' Ianto sat back and glared at the older man as Tosh sat giggling between them.  
She wanted to accuse them of being like an old married couple but instead she decided to enjoy being allowed to share their friendship and company as she settled back into watching the movie. Even if she wasn't allowed to point out the flaws in the plot. She let this replace the loneliness that had begun to creep into her thoughts. She'd lost count of how long she'd spent locked in UNIT's cells until Jack found her. And he hadn't just rescued her then, but he kept rescuing her now, even when if it was just in keeping biscuits in a draw for days he thought she needed it the most. She let him fold her into a hug as he seemed to know she needed one and just settled into his warmth. Warmth that, while it had always been there, was less hidden around Ianto. Leaving her dreading what would happen when their borrowed archivist finally returned home.


	5. Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning; this chapter contains: Cannon character death, suggestions of child abuse, suicide and self harm.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. Between attempted alien invasions that seemed to occur with an alarming frequency for a planet deemed off limits by the Shadow Proclamation, and the archives, Ianto kept trying to get back to London with no success. He felt no closer to going home than when he had first arrived in Cardiff. And trying to fold his relationship with Lisa into phone calls and emails was tearing him in two. He loved Lisa and their life in London, but he also loved being able to lose himself in the Hub's archives. The last few weeks had shown him how much being a junior archivist in London was not taxing his abilities at all. It had shown him that he could be, and do so much more than current opportunities in London had to offer.  
At the moment however, being in Cardiff was taxing his relationship and once again he'd gotten so lost in the archives he was late calling Lisa. Something that was happening all too frequently. Scooping his phone up he moved though the Hub and headed for the Plass. However the archives had been laid out and protected from damp, they had neglected to include good cell reception. He squared his shoulders back, mentally preparing himself to talk to his girlfriend, waiting for the familiar argument to begin. Being late to call, again, wasn't going to put her in a good mood.  
'Lisa.'  
'Hello Ianto.'

\----------

Tosh walked into Jack's office and dropped a folder on his desk, she picked it up and dropped it from a greater height when he didn't immediately react. The additional noise distracting him from the image on his monitor of Ianto, pacing in a tight circle while speaking on his cellphone.  
'Spying on him now are we?' Her arms moved to cross in front of her chest as she didn't even hide her disapproval. She liked Ianto and hated the idea of him leaving but she also didn't see how his staying could end well.  
Jack shrugged as he swung his chair around. 'He's talking to his girlfriend, again.'  
'You keep delaying his return to London, and she's his girlfriend so of course he's going to talk to her.' She leaned in as the camera got a clear shot of his face. 'He looks pretty pissed off. I just hope he doesn't find out you're spying on him.'  
'I'm not spying, and I don't keep delaying him from going back. Besides, he's only been here four weeks.'  
She scoffed. 'It's more like five, but who's counting.'  
Jack shook his head. 'What can I say, he's good at what he does.'  
Tosh rolled her eyes, something she'd clearly picked up from Ianto before leaving Jack's office. Her voice calling over her shoulder. 'You need to sign those files before they go into the archives.'

\----------

Out in the Plass Ianto paced up and down, taking advantage of a momentary break in the rain. 'I'm not sure when I'll be back, we both knew this could take time Lis.'  
'You have a life waiting for you here Ianto, and my parents were disappointed you weren't at dinner.'  
'I couldn't get away, you haven't seen the archives, seen what a mess they are, it's a smaller team here.'  
'Get more people and you know what, we have this thing called a weekend in London, clearly they haven't made it to the colonies yet.'  
Ianto groaned at her tone and what was a familiar argument, one that usually ended in a reference to his being treated like a library book that could be checked out at whim. 'Cardiff isn't a colony, it's the capital of Wales.'  
'And you couldn't catch a three hour train back to the capital of England for one lousy night?'  
'The trains go both ways, you could always come here. What do you expect Lisa?'  
'I expected you home for my birthday. You aren't a bloody library book Ianto that they can check out and forget to return.'  
'I know.' He resisted the urge to check his watch to see if this was a new record for how quickly she'd gotten to his missing her birthday, three weeks ago, and library books. He suspected however, that it wasn't.  
'Look, now isn't the time, we can talk about it tonight and I'll see if I can come to Cardiff this weekend since it's unlikely you'll be getting to London any time soon. Maybe take a few days and you can show me around.'  
'I'd like that.' Ianto heard her office door open and someone talking in the background.  
'I have to go, Yvonne's calling an emergency meeting, she probably needs someone to make the tea. We'll talk later okay, love you.'  
Ianto shoved his phone back in his pocket, looking around for something to kick. Jumping when Owen approached him, carrying two take away cups of coffee.  
'It's not as good as the coffee you make but.' Owen shrugged. 'You look like you could use some cheering up.' He tilted his head as he looked at Ianto. 'Or would you rather it was a certain captain in a flashy coat?'  
Ianto accepted the coffee and shook his head. 'I don't know what you're talking about.' Sipping the coffee he frowned. 'This is awful Owen, did you make it yourself?'  
'Nope.' He laughed. 'And I did say it wasn't good.'  
Ianto tossed the cup into a nearby rubbish bin. 'There is no excuse for bad coffee.'  
The doctor shrugged. 'So go make us a proper cup.' He waved his hands at Ianto in a shooing motion. 'Go on then. And send the girl a bunch of flowers.'  
Ianto shook his head, walking away as he muttered in Welsh. 'I've sent her so many bloody flowers I should have just brought shares in Interflora.'  
Owen shook his head. 'I hope that wasn't a comment on my good nature.'  
Ianto looked back over his shoulder. 'Hardly likely since you haven't got one.'  
'Whatever teaboy.' He grinned as Ianto headed towards the tourist office.  
'And that.' Owen waved at the security camera. 'Is how it's done.' He had grown fond of the Welshman and he hated seeing him upset by what he assumed was the challenge of maintaining his relationship long distance. If it meant he had to buy the occasional cup of Cardiff's crappiest coffee to help get the young man back to the task at hand, he'd take one for the team. As long as he didn't have to drink said crappy coffee. He also knew he wasn't the only team member dreading the return of instant coffee when Ianto finally did go home.

\----------

Jack clicked his screen back to emails as the cog door rolled open and Ianto walked back into the Hub. He ambled out of his office and leaned over the railing. 'Ianto, coffee?' He watched as the Welshman nodded and headed to the kitchen. Turning he found Suzie standing there, waiting.  
'You can't keep him Jack.'  
'I'm not trying to keep him.'  
'You're also not trying to get him home either.'  
Jack shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and kicked at the floor with the toe of his shoe. 'My archives have needs Suzie.'  
She snorted. 'Your archives? I hope this isn't because he hasn't given in to your charms.'  
'Actually, I would have to say, that while I certainly enjoy his company, and the coffee, that really isn't it.'  
She leaned against the wall and met his gaze. 'So what is it?' She was met with a sigh.  
'I don't know Suzie but the archives are actually starting to look less like a shambles and he's good. He's really good at what he does.'  
'Ah ha, he's pretty too.'  
Jack laughed. 'Hadn't noticed.'  
Her head shook before she walked away.

Coffee made and handed around Ianto headed back into his archives and considered Lisa may have a point if he was thinking of the archives as his. He'd mentioned to her Jack's previous comments about her joining the team in Cardiff. It hadn't been a well received thought. So he did what he'd been doing for the previous five weeks, he threw himself into getting the archives into some semblance of order. So he could go home.

Three hours later Ianto checked the time and made his way to the coffee machine to make the last coffee for the day. He found the team sitting on the sofa, waiting expectantly when a phone rang. He watched as three heads snapped around and Jack locked a blank look in place as he reached for a phone Ianto had not yet seen him use.  
Owen looked at Suzie and frowned. 'When’s the last time the bat phone rang?'  
'Bat phone?' Ianto asked.  
Tosh nodded as she moved to her computer and started typing. 'It's never a good sign when that one rings, it's the Emergency line.'  
Ianto watched as the team swung into action with Suzie packing weapons into a case while Owen grabbed his medical kit gave it a once over before moving to stand behind Tosh.  
'Any idea what or where?'  
'It's not rift related, I think it's centered in -.'  
'London.' Jack stepped out of his office and walked towards his team. 'There's a helicopter picking us up from the roof next door in about ten minutes.'  
Ianto felt his heart stop as Jack turned towards him, the emotions coming from the man were a mix of fear and concern.  
'I want you to stay here.'  
'You can't ask that. Not if you're going to Canary Wharf.'  
Jack put a hand on Ianto's arm to try and stop him but he was shrugged off.  
'They're the people I work with, my friends Jack, Lisa's there and if you think I'll stay here -.'  
Suzie cut into their conversation. 'Ah, what are you expecting to find in London Jack? And how does Ianto know you're talking about Canary Wharf? Since I assume you are from the look on your face.'  
'There isn't time to go into the whys of that.' Jack sighed as he stepped away from Ianto and began leading his team out of the Hub. 'But as to what's in London, that's easy. It's the end of the world.'

\----------

Jack knocked on the door, his voice soft as he called the Welshman's name. 'Ianto?' The door muffled the reply but Jack clearly heard.   
'Go away.'  
'Can't and I don't want to play the boss card but I will.'  
The door opened, revealing Ianto still in the crumpled clothes he'd been wearing when they'd made the mad dash to London. The same clothes he'd worn while holding the ruined body of Lisa in his arms when she died. Pulled from a cyberman conversion unit while Ianto screamed himself hoarse begging for someone to save her.  
Jack needed to see Ianto, he needed to replace the image in his mind of a broken man, dirt and tears streaking his face while hacking sobs echoed around them. Blood stains and holes torn in his shirt, the tie and jacket long discarded. They had worked alongside the emergency response crew, pawing though the ruins of Torchwood One for survivors and salvageable tech. It was just part of the job for everyone except Ianto, for him it had been personal. Jack wondered if he should have tried a little harder to leave Ianto in Cardiff. It might have been easier than watching the Welshman come apart with each friend he found.

Death and destruction were not new companions to Jack but they were to Ianto. Even his team were hardened to the screams of pain and terror and defiance echoing in the ruins of Yvonne Hartman's misguided scheme to bring green energy to the UK. Finding out the ghosts were in fact Cybermen, that hadn't been nearly as terrifying as the discovery that One had found a void ship containing Darleks. The source of his first death and most of his nightmares.  
Tosh found security footage of Cybermen talking trash with the Darleks, to the others the dialogue was amusing but he'd had to take a moment to school his features. To hide his fear. And then Ianto had been the one to find Lisa. No one was laughing when they saw Ianto holding her, begging her not to leave him. His face torn in pain and ravaged by tears along with a voice raw from his own screams of defiance. That was an image that would, Jack suspected, give them all nightmares.  
Now he spent each night listening to Ianto sobbing while he was awake and screaming in his sleep. He'd moved a chair into Ianto's room the first night when he'd stumbled across the hall, woken by a panicked Ianto caught in nightmares begging for retcon. He just hoped there wouldn't come a time when he'd have to admit his reason for denying Ianto the oblivion he sought was a more selfish one. For now, he was able to argue that the young man shouldn't ever try and forget someone he loved. Even as part of him wondered if keeping Ianto around wasn't more about his growing affection for the man.  
And Ianto wasn't sure if he wanted to live or die as he turned away from Jack and picked up the pillow he'd taken from his London flat. Sitting on the bed he wrapped his arms around it and let the tears fall. His pain poured out like a poisonous fog and filled Jack with fear he would loose this gentle soul. His friend. So he did the only thing he could, the same thing he'd done every night since discovering how uncomfortable the chair was. He climbed on the bed next to Ianto and pulled him into his arms. His own heart breaking too.  
He understood why, he'd been there with Ianto while Lisa said goodbye and died in his arms, while he had begged them to save her six very long days ago. Now, everything was a reminder, of shared dreams and hopes and of what he had now lost. Even down to still wearing the same smoke stained clothes as he held her pillow and tried to grieve. And all Jack could do was hold him, keeping his voice soft, his tone low and even. 'I've got food in the kitchen.'  
'Not hungry.'  
'Don't care.'

Ianto looked up from the pillow, at Jack and recognizing the older man's determination he put the pillow down. He wasn't even sure why he was holding it, he'd cried so much and held it so tightly it had stopped smelling of her shampoo and perfume days ago.  
Jack let him go as Ianto rose to his feet and tried to hide the slight stumble, but he still noticed. 'When did you last eat?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'Pizza, I think.'  
'That explains what.' Owen had brought them pizza three days ago. 'You need to eat.' He'd felt too many ribs when holding the younger man.  
'Don't care any more.'  
'No.' Jack shook his head. 'I wont let you stop living.'  
'You can't make me Jack.'  
'You really think I can't?'  
'Why force me to live when you refused to save her.' Ianto tried to pull away. 'You don't know what it's like. I have nothing left.'  
'We couldn't save her Ianto, you know that. Lisa was gone -.'  
'No!' Ianto cut him off. 'You don't get to say that, you don't even get to say her name!'  
'At least you got to say goodbye. I lost people too and I never got my goodbye.'  
Ianto shrugged. 'All you ever get is goodbye.'  
'You think I don't know that? You think I don't hate every minute of watching my friends and lovers grow old around me? That I haven't had to watch them leave when they didn't understand why I don't age. I've lost so much more than you will ever know little boy, so don't tell me I don't know what it's like.'  
Ianto sighed, his face in his hands as the weight of Jack's words settled around them and added to his pain until he wondered if either of them could smile again. 'I need to grieve, can you give me that?'  
'Only if you promise to live.' Jack waited until Ianto nodded. 'Good, lets eat before it gets cold.'  
Ianto let Jack wrap an arm around him and walk him to the kitchen. The smell of food reminding him it really had been several days since he'd last eaten. Jack had tried to get him to eat, constantly bringing him food but he'd been busy at the Hub. Ianto had refused to step foot into a Torchwood building leaving Jack with little choice but to check on him several times a day and offer to call his sister for him. He couldn't bring himself to tell Rhi that Lisa was gone, since he couldn't tell her the truth and right now he was incapable of lying.  
Jack thought about the last time Ianto must have eaten, he remembered Owen yelling at him for the better part of ten minutes. About the stupidity of leaving a grieving man alone until he saw the panic attack his shouting induced in the man he'd begrudgingly begun to consider a friend. Owen had watched as Jack held the near catatonic Welshman and rocked him until he was calmed down enough to speak. Refusing to let Owen medicate him, knowing that this level of grief needed an outlet or it would manifest in more destructive ways. Owen had still called Jack a right cunt for not bringing Ianto to the Hub to be checked out and been tossed out of the house for his efforts. Now he wondered if Owen hadn't been right and he should have ordered Ianto to the Hub so they could keep a closer watch on him. The aftermath of Canary Wharf haunted them all.

Dinner finished Jack addressed the next thing on his list, trying to ignore the pooling guilt over his failure to make sure the man had been eating properly. 'Do you feel up to a shower or should I fill a bathtub for you?'  
'Oh.'  
Jack nodded. 'Yeah you do.' Replying to the question that hadn't been voiced.  
Ianto burst into tears as Jack groaned.  
'I'm not used to this people thing.' Jack muttered, moving around the table he wrapped his arms about the sobbing man. 'Let it out Ianto, don't try and hold it in.' Hoping his presence could offer some comfort. 'Come on, I'll even put bubble mix in the bath for you.' He frowned when Ianto muttered something. 'Didn't get that, was it Welsh?'  
'No, I said you're just trying to get me naked.'  
Jack shrugged. 'You can keep your clothes on if you like, it's not like they couldn't use a wash too.'  
Considering his options Ianto decided he did want a bath and nodded. 'Okay, but I can wash myself.'  
Jack snapped his fingers and grinned. 'Darn, that's the best part. What if I keep my eyes closed?'  
Ianto tried to glare at him before shaking his head. He still let Jack lead him to his room and into the attached bathroom.

Jack poured half a bottle of bubble mix into the running water before turning to Ianto. 'Strip.' Recognizing how emotionally exhausted the younger man was when the anticipated quip failed to materialize. Ianto simply dropped his clothes to the floor, revealing how much weight he'd lost in the last six days.  
Ianto shook his head as he sensed Jack's distress. 'I don't have enough room in my head for your pity too Jack and none of this was your fault.'  
Jack nodded. 'I know but I'm still human and I could have done more to make sure you were okay.' Checking his mental barriers, he'd been working on them since realizing how much he'd been broadcasting, how much Ianto had been able to pick up. Sometimes, when emotions were stronger, like now, it was harder to maintain. Leaving him feeling even more guilty for yelling right back at Ianto. 'I'm sorry.' He even averted his eyes when Ianto shed his boxers before sinking into the hot water.  
'I don't think I'll ever be okay but I'm not going to hurt myself if you wanted to leave.'  
'If I'd been afraid of that.' Jack pointed out. 'If I really, truly felt you would have harmed yourself, I would have let Owen take you back to the Hub.' Jack watched as Ianto settled in the bath, wrapping his arms around bent knees revealed faint lines on his back. Faded scars that were barely there, revealing more to Jack that the younger man probably realized. He used to have a reputation in certain circles as a go to kind of guy. His skills in the area of torture extended to the ability to read scars with near clairvoyant accuracy as to what caused them. Ianto's body was as easy to read as a for sale sign. He chose to focus instead on something he could impact as he looked around to find a cloth before reaching for Ianto's body wash. 'I may as well wash your back, since I'm here now.'

Ianto shrugged, giving Jack his consent, shivering lightly at the touch. He felt Jack moving across scars that marked his back, silver reminders of his father's fondness for using his belt. He'd been sixteen when he'd finally stood up to the man, earning him a night in hospital for his efforts. Sometimes, like now, he wondered if he'd ever be happy. He hadn't been happy as a child and he felt like he'd fallen into a black hole of despair now. At what point did he get to find his happiness he wondered.  
Jack hummed a lullaby, it had been so long since he'd heard it he'd forgotten the words. It was one his mother had sung to him as a child and it still comforted him. He could only hope it might bring them both some peace.  
Ianto followed the haunting notes Jack surrounded him in and let the warmth of the water seep in. Exhaustion filled the gaps in his soul as he relaxed into Jack's hands. He did however draw the line at letting Jack wash him below the line of the water. The older man just grinned and shrugged.  
'It wouldn't be me if I didn't try.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes, knowing there was no intent beyond reassurance behind the words as he finished bathing himself under Jack's watchful eye. He must have satisfied him as to how clean he was when a towel was handed to him and once more eyes were averted. Neither man commenting on how dark the water had become with the dirt now removed from Ianto.  
'I want Owen to give you a proper physical tomorrow.'  
Ianto shook his head but Jack had a solid look in his eyes that suggested he wouldn't be budged.

'Fine, whatever.' He wrapped the towel around his waist and headed into his bedroom. 'Are you going to watch me get dressed for bed now too?' He pulled a draw open to find a pair of cotton pyjama pants. 'You could at least turn your head or something.'  
Jack decided pointing out he'd just seen Ianto naked in the bath wasn't going to be deemed helpful so he averted his gaze once more. There was nothing sexual in it, just a need to comfort a friend.  
'Done, and are you going to tuck me in and read me a bed time story too?'  
'Only if you want.'  
'I'm not sure what I want any more.' He sat heavily on the edge of the bed. 'Or where I even belong, not now.'  
'Well first things first, we're changing those sheets and making that bed fresh. And you have a place in the Hub for as long as you want it.'  
'What about my flat? I can't stay here freeloading forever.'  
Jack shrugged as he pulled Ianto to his feet and began stripping the bed. Setting Lisa's pillow carefully on a chair. 'I can charge you rent if it makes you feel better. And I can get Suzie and Tosh to pack the flat in London for you, or send your sister. We can store your things while you decide what you want to do.'  
'You've got it all worked out haven't you.'  
Jack snorted. 'Oh right, like I know how this all ends.'  
'You.' Ianto stopped as Jack left the room and returned with fresh linen.  
'Me? My favourite subject you know, closely followed by a certain Welsh accent.'  
'You said, you lost someone too, in London.'  
Jack nodded as he concentrated on getting the fitted sheet in place, recognizing this as Ianto's apology.  
'Your Doctor was there, I saw the reports on the server Tosh downloaded, before we found.' Ianto closed his eyes, he didn't want to finish speaking, to say her name. 'Your Doctor was there.'  
'Sometimes I don't think he's my doctor any more. I mean, he's not my doctor, he's a regeneration.'  
'But he's the one you're waiting for.'  
Jack turned to Ianto. 'How do you know that?'  
'It's not hard to read when you're broadcasting nothing but.'  
'You should stay out of my head Ianto, it gets too crowed in there as it is.'  
'Would you have left with him?'  
'He.' Jack shook his head at how much he was sharing. 'He abandoned me on Satellite Five.'  
'But you'd follow him in a heartbeat.'  
Jack nodded as he moved, getting the top sheet tucked in before reaching for the quilts. 'I need answers and as you know, I've been waiting since 1897 to get them. He'll come to Cardiff to fuel the TARDIS eventually, we both know I've got time.'  
'A detail you wont share with the rest of your team.'  
Jack stopped and looked at Ianto, standing there, pajama pants slung low on his hips with the weight he'd lost in the last few days and no shirt. He wanted to enjoy the view but knew this wasn't the time. 'How do I tell them I come back when I die? How do I do that when I don't know why, or how. Or if one day I wont.'  
Ianto scooped Lisa's pillow up and hugged it to his chest. 'Fucked if I know Jack, but I think they have a right to know.'  
Jack retrieved the now discarded linen and shook his head. 'You can think what you like, but you can't tell them. I'm going to clean the kitchen up and turn in.'  
Setting the pillow with its ruffled pillowcase on the bed Ianto nodded. 'Night Jack.' He watched as his boss and perhaps friend, moved across the room. 'Jack.'  
He turned. 'Ianto?'  
'Thank you.'  
He nodded. 'Any time Ianto.'  
'Jack?' Ianto took a deep breath and sighed. 'Did, did anyone survive?'  
'Twenty six, four of them weren't there for different reasons. Although it's twenty seven if we count you of course.' He watched as fresh tears filled Ianto's usually smiling blue eyes at the news, knowing he'd lost friends as well as Lisa. He didn't mention that they didn't really know just how many had died over all, since not all of the Cybermen had crossed over in Torchwood Tower itself and then there were the Darleks.

He knew that unless someone had seen these creatures, these beings who had once been men, coming towards them with death in what was left of their hearts, that the true fear of what they represented couldn't be realized. He could only hope that whatever the Doctor did had been enough to send them all into the void. Every last one of the metallic bastards because even just one surviving would be enough to destroy the world.  
Although he'd considered it, Jack didn't want to think what Ianto might have done had he been there sooner, or if he'd been alone when he'd found Lisa, frightened, in pain and half converted. He wondered if the man would have tried to save the woman he loved and not for the first time he was left curious as to the hidden strengths that Ianto Jones kept covered up by his perfectly tailored suits. And with that curiosity was a little envy as he headed to the utility room to put a load of washing on. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd cared enough to be jealous of anyone. Or if he'd get to spend the entire night in his own bed.

Once he was satisfied the kitchen was clean and tidy and the washing machine done so he could toss the sheets in the dryer, he checked the doors were locked and lights were off before heading back upstairs. He was about to enter his bedroom when he heard whimpering followed by Ianto shouting. Bursting in he found Ianto sitting up, chest heaving as he drew in hacking breaths.  
'Ianto?' He called softly, unsure if he was even awake. 'Ianto, it was just a dream.'  
'There was smoke, and the screams Jack.' He sobbed.  
'Shhh, it's done, they are gone now Ianto.' He moved closer to the bed and reached out to reassure him. 'You can go to sleep Ianto.'  
'Nope, can't sleep, I see them when I close my eyes.' He looked directly at Jack even in the darkness. 'How do you make them go away Jack? All the ghosts that must haunt your dreams.'  
'I don't. I haven't needed as much sleep as I used to, after I died the first time.'  
'So, you just don't close your eyes?'  
'Sometimes it helps if I'm not alone when I do sleep.' It was a variation on the conversation they'd shared every night since returning to Cardiff. Jack always tried to give Ianto honest answers.  
'Does that work?'  
'I think so.'  
Ianto nodded as he reached for Jack's hand. 'Then stay so I can see if it works for me too.'  
'You know I'm not sleeping in that chair, not again.'  
'We both know the bed is big enough for two.'  
Jack nodded. 'I also don't always wear pyjamas.' He just hoped Ianto recognized he was trying to lighten the mood with humour rather than being serious. That any implication of flirting was a matter of habit and not desire. Although a part of him wanted to see what would happen once Ianto had put a bit more of his grief aside, he knew this wasn't the time. He also knew if he completely stopped flirting the world really could end, and it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.  
'Yes you do and you know where I keep mine.' Ianto moved over as he heard the sound of Jack undressing in the dark. He felt the bed dip with the man's weight and relaxed as the warmth beside him didn't vanish. 'Hands to yourself Harkness.'  
'Nope, you know I can't promise that.'  
'Whatever, but I'm still not putting out.'  
Jack smiled as he felt Ianto settle beside him. 'Don't worry, I think we both know it's too soon for anything like that.'  
'Just as well.' Ianto yawned. 'Since I'm not gay.'  
Jack snorted. 'You humans with your antiquated little labels.'  
'Not all of us are from the fifty first century.' Ianto mumbled as he let sleep take him.  
Jack turned his face towards Ianto and wondered, not for the first time, just how much the archivist actually knew.  
'You forget.' His voice filled with sleep. 'I know everything.' For the first time since Lisa's death, he wasn't afraid to dream as he fell asleep.  
Jack lay in the darkness listening to the even breaths beside him, considering the lives and loves he'd lost since being abandoned by the Doctor. But what he really wanted to know, was how much had he himself changed. He hoped he was a better person than the conman the Gallifreyan had first met.  
He also thought about the young blonde who he had danced with so very long ago. Her name had also appeared on the list of Canary Wharf dead. He wanted very much to meet the Doctor who had let that happen. Knowing he was there if Ianto needed him, he let sleep drift him into dreams of a very different London than the one they'd flown to almost a week ago.


	6. Photos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: implied suicide and childhood trauma/abuse.

It was seven days of forever since Owen had dunk Ianto's coffee and there was no dressing it up, he was grumpy. He could understand that Ianto didn't want to be in the Hub. But there came a point where the man had to realize that they all had needs that weren't currently being fulfilled by his hiding from the world at Jack's house. His only consolation, when he'd turned up a few days earlier with pizza, Jack didn't look like he'd been getting any coffee either for all he had a fancy machine in his kitchen. But it was a small moment of happiness in an otherwise crappy week.

He looked over at Suzie and Tosh pouring over the various pieces of tech and what he thought looked like crap they'd scavenged from London. He hadn't seen anyone that excited since Katie had found the perfect table cloths for a wedding he'd never gotten to enjoy. Which just reminded him that he did actually, in point of fact, have some inkling of what it was like to loose the woman you love to a fucking alien. He'd pointed that out to Jack but the door had still been slammed behind him as the American told him to fuck right off out of there. In hindsight, asking if Ianto could at least make him a thermos of coffee to go, perhaps hadn't been his best idea. But today there was hope that coffee could once more flow.  
Jack called to say he was bringing Ianto in for a physical. His carefully considered joy at the prospect of a decent cup of coffee was cautious, when he considered the condition Ianto might be in. Jack's call filling him with concern at how much weight the already slender man had lost. But if he was willing to step foot in the Hub the medic was going to take that as a good sign.  
Everyone looked up when the cog door rolled back and the alarm sounded as Jack led Ianto into the Hub. Suzie nodded her greeting and it was Tosh who moved to throw her arms around Ianto.  
'I've missed you.'  
Ianto hugged her back. 'I know.'  
'I came to see you.'  
'I'm sorry Tosh, I wasn't ready to see anyone.'  
She looked up and brushed fingertips across his cheek. 'I understand.'  
He gave her a sad smile and let her go. 'I'm not sure I'll ever be ready but what else can I do.'  
She nodded at the raw honesty in his words that echoed in his usually smiling eyes. Patting him on the arm she hid the urge to wrap him in her arms and cry with him for all their losses. But she knew she couldn't. 'Even Owen missed you a little bit.'  
'Missed my coffee you mean.'  
Suzie laughed. 'We all missed that, but.' She shrugged.  
Ianto decided to take that for as good as it got, Owen was visibly snarky and caustic to the touch, but Suzie's snark was buried much deeper and under a veneer of politeness that was truly British. She didn't do warm and fuzzy and he'd accepted that and would take what little she did extend in the spirit it was intended.

'Alright you lot, enough with the touchy feely.' Owen decided it was time to break up the hug fest before someone started crying. Probably himself if there was no coffee any time soon. 'Now, teaboy, if you aren't going to make us a coffee get your arse into my office for your physical.' He waved Tosh aside and moved over to escort Ianto to either the coffee machine or the autopsy table. He wasn't going to express any further preference for which Ianto decided to visit first. Mostly worried Jack would just whisk the young man away again and they'd never get another decent cup of coffee. And yes he was disappointed when Ianto moved to the autopsy bay slash med lab area first.

Tosh remained where she was as Jack moved up beside her. 'Has anyone told his sister?'  
He nodded, trying not to remember that conversation. 'I called her, she was going to see it on the news if I didn't. The names were released after the second day and she'd met Lisa.'  
'I saw that and they called it a terrorist attack.'  
Jack shrugged. 'It's the closest thing to the truth, we can't exactly say there was an attempted invasion by two opposing groups of aliens, that was aborted with the help of a third alien.'  
'The sales of tinfoil would go though the roof if they did.'  
Jack smiled as he nodded. 'Ah the conspiracy theory tin hat brigade. Maybe I should talk to my investment broker about buying those shares in Bacofoil after all.'  
Tosh laughed for a moment. 'Maybe we should try wearing them ourselves. How did his sister take the news?'  
'She wanted to be with Ianto but he said no. I'm not even sure he realized I was speaking to her.'  
'What's she like, his sister?'  
'Rhiannon Davies?'  
Jack grinned as he considered how to answer of a woman he'd only met briefly. 'She's a few years older and a very striking woman, bright, friendly and quick as a whip.'  
'So, a girl version of Ianto.'  
'I think so, from the little I've interacted with her. I'm hoping he'll see her after today. We all need our friends and family around us when this sort of thing happens. Especially when you don't have a grave to visit.' Turning, Jack shrugged and walked away.  
Tosh stared after him wondering who he'd lost and if that perhaps explained some of the loneliness she saw in eyes that had clearly seen too much. His haunted expression one now shared by Ianto.

\----------

Owen tossed his gloves in the bin and nodded at his patient. 'You can put your shirt back on. We don't need you blinding the girls with your London tan.'  
'I thought about getting an Essex tan but I've never found orange to be my colour.'  
'Funny bugger aren't you. But you're okay considering, and your injuries have healed up.'  
Ianto looked at his hands, he'd done more than break a few nails trying to claw Lisa out of the ruins at One. 'Let me guess, restricted duties, counselling and make more coffee?'  
'That and you need to make sure you don't skip meals, proper ones and no junk mind.' He looked up at Jack and pointed. 'You need to keep on top of that, and he's not sleeping proper is he.'  
Ianto finished buttoning his shirt and reached for his tie. 'What possible reason would I have for not sleeping?' Knowing the dark circles under his eyes stood out in stark contrast to his pale Welsh complexion.  
Owen patted his shoulder. 'Now I know you're feeling better if you're getting snarky.'  
'Whatever, you just want me to make you a coffee.'  
'If you're offering.'  
Jack laughed at how hopeful Owen looked. 'Only if he feels up to it. I'm not above putting Ianto on administrative leave if I have to.'  
'Easy tiger, he's lost a bit of weight but we can always switch back to full fat and drink a few more coffee's. The fancy ones with the foamy milk on them, I know I'd be willing to take a few for the team.'  
Ianto snorted. 'I'm sure you would.' He looked at Jack as he pulled his jacket back on after straightening his tie. 'I think I'd like to stay busy and if making him coffee.' He indicated Owen with a jerk of his head. 'Keeps him in his box and helps then so be it.'  
'You know.' Owen said, looking up from his notes. 'If it means I'll get my coffee I'm willing to let that slide.'  
Ianto gave him a quick smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. 

Dressed and straightened up he moved away, stopping as he pulled up to Jack, knowing the older man had something to add.  
'Your sister wants to talk to you.'  
Ianto nodded. 'I know but, I don't know if I can.' He fell in step with Jack as they moved to the kitchen. 'I can make coffee and then I'd like to go to my archives.'  
'I talked to Rhi.' Jack spoke quietly so only Ianto could hear. 'She's worried about you.'  
'I know.'  
'That we spoke or that she's concerned?'  
'I know you spoke to her and concern is her default setting. Mine is to keep busy.'  
'Don't be so busy that you forget there are people around you who care.' Jack let his hand linger on Ianto's shoulder. 'You know that right?' Blue eyes found his and nodded. There were still clouds in his eyes and Jack wondered if they'd ever laugh freely again.  
'You know I've lost friends and lovers before.'  
'Does it get easier Sir?'  
Jack shook his head. 'Nope, and it shouldn't.'  
'So what do you do? Stop trying?'  
'We should never stop Ianto.'  
'But you have.' He handed Jack a coffee. 'I don't even need to be able to pick up on your thoughts to know that.'  
'Are you trying to distract me from focusing on you by pointing out my own intimacy issues?'  
'Is it working?'  
'No.' Jack leaned back and finished his coffee. 'Did you really think it would?'  
Ianto handed him another coffee. 'Not really.'  
'Come on, before Owen climbs up here for his coffee.'  
'Are you going to tell him you're on your second cup?'  
Jack shrugged. 'Maybe, if he gets really annoying.'  
'That's a given.' Ianto smiled as Jack laughed.  
'Yeah, and then he'll go into the archives.'  
'Not if he wants to drink anything other than decaf or store brought ever again.'  
'That mean you'll stay?'  
Ianto paused, holding the tray of coffees, his smile sad. 'I have no where else to go.'

Jack watched as he walked away, his shoulders stooping under the weight of his pain his voice soft. 'Oh Ianto, you'll always have somewhere to go.' He turned and headed to his office. Today already felt like a two teacakes kind of day and it was barely nine o'clock.

Ianto stepped into his sanctuary, his archives and was relieved to find them how he left them.  
He considered how much more room he was going to have to find now One had fallen. He would have to go though the servers to see what remained and which, if any, of his friends had survived. They would be feeling as lost as he did, but were they waking screaming in the darkness? Wondering what he would have done, if he could have saved her, was a moot point. As was cursing the Doctor for not saving them all or of heaping it all at Yvonne Hartman's empty grave.

Her pursuit of things the Doctor had warned her to stop was simply one more example of the woman's hubris. Of course if it had worked she'd have been a hero. The fact she allowed two such devastating alien races access to the world was going to colour the memories she had left behind. Few would remember the woman she was, just the devastation her actions caused. And even then, only those with the highest security clearances would ever really know.

To stop thinking he tried to lose himself in his archives. Cataloguing and sorting the seemingly endless collection of trash and treasure found by Torchwood over the years of guarding the rift in Cardiff. He found files from Emily and Alice mixed in with those written by field agents a hundred years later that no one would probably remember as he lost himself in bringing order to the chaos. Until it was that time of day when he would reach for his phone and leave the archives to call Lisa. Only this time there was no one to call.

Owen was standing beside Tosh, looking over data at her station, they both looked up as Jack rushed past, knocking a pile of files to the ground without looking back.  
'Oi, wanker.'  
'Language Owen, did you see where he went?' Taking the pages he handed her.  
'The archives, so unless teaboy's got a second coffee machine, what's going on.'  
'How should I know.'  
'Dial up the CCTV and look. Not like the Captain doesn't stalk the lad when he's in his office.'  
'So, that doesn't mean we should all do it. Jack also likes to stand on the top of buildings but I'm quite happy to give that one a miss.'  
'Oh shut up and have a look, he might need help or something. Teaboy could have accidentally set an artefact off.'  
Tosh rolled her eyes and directed her computer to finding the archives on the CCTV. Some how she suspected Ianto Jones was the least likely member of the team to do that, but she complied with Owen's request.

Jack was working on paperwork when he felt Ianto's pain. Their connection was getting stronger and he hadn't even registered moving until he was picking Ianto up off the floor. Fearing the worst. Pulling the crying man into his arms he sat with him as he rubbed nonsense circles on his back.  
'What happened? Is it too soon to be here?'  
'I, it was time to call her Jack but.'  
'Shh, I've got you Yan, and I'm not letting go.'  
'She's not there.'  
'I know, but we are and we're all here for you.'  
Ianto hiccoughed. 'They only like me for my coffee.' Taking Jack's handkerchief.  
'That's not completely true. Tosh and I genuinely like you.'  
Ianto snorted, blowing his nose. 'So it's just the others that only like me for the coffee then.'  
'I don't know, I think the others like you for you. The coffee's a bonus.'  
'What if.' Ianto stopped.  
'What if what Yan?'  
He sighed. 'What if she was the one and now she's gone?'  
Jack pulled him in and wrapped him in comforting thoughts. 'You think I know the answer to that? Even if I find my one, I'll still have to work out how to live when he, or she is gone.'  
Ianto pulled back and looked at Jack, his expression absent any mirth. 'I swear to god, if you tell me it is better to have loved and lost. You wont have to worry about explaining to the others that you come back from the dead because they'll get to see it first hand.'  
Jack felt the cold seriousness of Ianto's words not only in his tone and expression, but over the connection they had begun forming. And for the first time in a very long time, he was able to feel fear of his own. 'Understood.' He watched as Ianto pulled himself to his feet and began straightening his suit.  
'Perhaps I should just make us all a coffee Sir.'  
'If you need to talk to someone Ianto...' Jack let his voice trail off as he rose to his feet beside the Welshman. 'We've all been though a lot, if there was ever a group of people who you could talk to about the weird shit we deal with, it's us.'  
'I'm sure that is correct Sir.'  
Jack sighed as the mask fell into place and the man walk away. Following, he vowed not to let Ianto blend into the background of the Hub and fade away. And if it meant a group karaoke night, he was willing to take one for the team. And drag the rest of them out at gun point if he had to. He wasn't above coercion and old fashioned blackmail.

Ianto went though the motions of making coffee and was surprised when Owen pulled him aside.  
'Do you actually want decaf?'  
'No teaboy, I don't ever want decaf. But I want you to know something.' He pulled a worn photo out of his pocket and handed it to Ianto. 'Her name was Katie Russell and we should have been arguing over baby names by now. We would of, if she hadn't been killed by an alien incubating in her brain.' He took the photo back, running his thumb over her face. 'I think Tosh stitched the records up so I'm pretty sure she knows, and Jack who found me of course.' He closed his eyes as he remembered the worst day of his life. 'Don't think you're alone yeah.'  
Ianto nodded as he watched the usually verbose Englishman tuck the photo carefully in his pocket. 'Please don't think I'm going to go on the pull with you. But, thank you.'  
Owen snorted. 'Like I need you as my wing man. And I get the feeling Jack would drop me in the Bay if I took you out clubbing.' Owen shook his head. 'Just. Don't be like me and stop talking about her, yeah.' And with that, he walked away, coffee cup firmly in hand as if he hadn't just shared a little piece of his soul.

Handing out coffee's he saved Jack for last, taking the empty chair next to the older man's desk, his own cup untouched. Seeing this Jack set his cup aside and reached for Ianto's hand.  
'I wont ask if you're all right.'  
'Good because I don't have enough energy to lie to you.' Ianto picked his cup up but just held it, feeling the warmth he hoped it would help. 'The others, what happened to them?'  
'The survivors?' Jack watched as Ianto nodded. 'Two died from their injuries and one committed suicide. The other twenty three are in various states of shock, talking to counsellors. There's one willing to come to Cardiff to talk to you for as long as you need to.'  
'Do you think I need to talk to a psychiatrist Jack? Because it did wonders for my mother.'  
'You aren't your mother Ianto.' He considered the conversation he'd had with Rhi, filling in a few of the blanks in her brother's records. Their mother, who never recovered from the loss of her youngest child, had spent ten years in and out of psychiatric care by the time of her death.  
'I'm not going to kill myself.'  
'Good because I don't want to lose you because of this.'  
Ianto shook his head. 'I think I'd like to go home now.'  
'Will you talk to Rhi?'  
Ianto nodded. 'I'll have to talk to her at some point.'  
'Okay, how about I take you home and call her.'  
'Do I even want to know how you got her number in the first place?'  
Jack shrugged. 'I have a verified computer genius on staff, how do you think I got her number.'  
'From my cell phone.'  
Jack grinned as he sipped his coffee and chose not to answer.

\---------

They were home long enough for Ianto to change out of his suit when there was a knock at the door and Jack welcomed Rhi into his home.  
'Found the place all right then?'  
'I did.' She squared her shoulders back. 'Is he.' She sighed as Jack shook his head.  
'Come on, he's through here.'  
'I only met her twice she kept him pretty busy in London, he loved her, you know.'  
'I know.' Jack agreed, showing her into the sitting room. 'I can make a pot of mediocre tea if you like.'  
Rhi laughed. 'If it's only mediocre, forget it.'  
'Your brother says that about my coffee.'  
Ianto looked up at the voices. 'I never said you made mediocre coffee Jack.'  
'No, you're right, I believe there was a polite suggestion, however, that I never touch my coffee machine again. I'll leave you two to talk.'  
Rhi didn't wait for Jack to leave the room before wrapping her brother in her arms and held on. 'You look like Dav when I told him we weren't sending Mica back and getting a puppy.'  
'To be fair Rhi, that was only a few weeks ago.'  
She stepped back and pulled him onto the sofa, sitting beside him. 'How are you holding up Yan or are you trying to bottle it in?' She decided, other than his eyes he looked younger than his age. And tired.  
'I hate how much it hurts.' He sniffed, trying to hold the tears back. 'I hate that she died like that.'  
'Hang on, you were there?'  
'We took a helicopter when we got the call, worst forty minutes of my life. Or I thought it was.' He knew he was radiating pain and looked up, half expecting Jack to burst into the room, again.

Rhi felt the room fill with a miasma of grief pouring out around them, wrapping the room in her brother's distress. 'You were with her.'  
He nodded. 'We. I, found her -.' His voice broke as tears filled his eyes.  
'Oh Yan love.' She pulled him into her arms once more.  
Time faded around them until he was a broken fourteen year old boy finding his mother dead in the bathroom of his childhood home. The sad reality, his childhood hadn't ended that day, but rather ten years previously. Both of them lost their childhood the day their brother Huw, only three weeks old, had stopped breathing. That became the day Ina Jones forgot she had two other children and a husband. Ianto had no happy memories of his mother, a woman who spent the last ten years of her life in and out of Providence Park. Until finally, in death she left her son with a drunken father and a sister who moved out of home as soon as she turned eighteen not long after.  
'I'm not going anywhere Yan.'  
'But you did. You left me before.'  
She sighed. 'I know and I wish I could have taken you with me.'  
'Everyone leaves me. You left me, Huw and mam left, even tad couldn't wait to drink himself to death. And now Lisa.'  
Rhi jumped as Jack appeared on the other side of her brother and held him.  
'Christ Jack, where did you spring from.'  
'That's an unimportant detail, he needed me.'  
She had to concede he may have been right as she watched her brother cling to him. As children she'd always known what her brother was feeling whenever they were in close proximity. Something that at eighteen had made it both hard to leave, and harder to stay.  
She knew it hadn't been easy after their mother died. Left with a father who blamed the unnaturalness his wife had shared with her children for her death. They drifted apart, it was only after he met Lisa he'd reached out to her once more and she didn't want to loose him again. They were each other's family, orphaned in a world filled with pain.

Ianto turned to Jack after hugging his sister goodbye and watching her drive away. 'What happens, when you die?'  
'You don't want to know Ianto.'  
'I do.'  
'Okay. Nothing.'  
'What, one moment you're alive, then you're alive again?'  
'No.' Jack shook his head in the face of Ianto's raised eyebrows. 'I mean, there's nothing. It's just, empty.'  
'No white light, no loved ones waiting for you?'  
'Not for me, but I don't know how I come back. Maybe I'm just not dead long enough to see what's beyond this life.'  
'And how does it feel, to come back?'  
Jack considered his answer. 'It's like trying to swallow when you have a cold and your throat feels like it's filled with sand. You don't have a choice, even knowing you'll feel every moment of it like you're crawling over broken glass.' Jack clapped his hand on Ianto's shoulder. 'I wish I could tell you I hear Elvis jamming with John Lennon while sitting in a field of flowers.'  
'I'd have had you pegged more for a Glenn Miller fan than Elvis.'  
'I'm a multi-faceted man Ianto Jones.'  
'Apparently.' He agreed. 'So, the flat in London, will you really send Tosh with Rhi to pack everything up?'  
Jack nodded. 'It's what we were just talking about while your sister made us tea. Is that a Jones thing? Neither of you let me make drinks in my own kitchen.'  
'Well if we needed paint thinner we would.'  
'Owen's right, you are a funny bastard sometimes. But yes. I will call Tosh now and ask her to come by tomorrow and she and your sister can go to London to pack your flat up. I'll even put them up in a hotel for the night so they can talk about us and order room service.'  
'You will, will you.'  
'Me, Torchwood, same thing.' Jack pulled his phone out to call Tosh. 'Are you sure you want to just give the furniture to good will?'  
Ianto nodded. 'And her clothes, I.' He sighed. 'It's that or I do a Havisham and hold on to everything and never leave the house.'  
'Havisham?' Jack shook his head. 'Is that a Welsh thing?'  
'No, it's a Dickens thing, the character in his book, Great Expectations? Miss Havisham? Jilted bride who still wore her wedding dress and stopped all the clocks in her house. Ring any bells?'  
'Oh.'  
'You have no idea do you.'  
'I spent a great deal of time getting drunk when I first landed here, then Torchwood found me. They didn't exactly give me time off for reading.'  
'I'm sorry Jack.'  
'You didn't tie me to a chair and shoot me. Eventually they realized I could be, of use to them and they stopped trying to kill me. Sort of.'  
'I would say I didn't know but I've seen the files.'  
Jack nodded as his call connected. 'Tosh, can I ask you to do something for me?'  
Ianto walked away, he didn't want to hear Jack organizing his life around him. He knew he couldn't keep paying rent on the London flat, and he knew something needed to be done with everything that was Lisa's. He just wasn't ready to make those sorts of decisions so he made more coffee instead. He wondered if he did need to talk to someone, he couldn't keep crying on Jack's shoulder every time he reached for his phone to call Lisa.  
He also wasn't ready to look at why Jack felt like such a safe place that he could cry on his shoulder. He almost wished Jack would let him fade away but something told him that the older man wasn't ever letting go. And a little flame of hope fed the idea that maybe, just maybe, that would be okay.


	7. Hello Myfanwy

Ianto woke in Jack's bunker alone. A moment of panic consumed him at the silence until he remembered staying in the Hub overnight. The team were tracking sightings of a winged creature circling Cardiff and terrorizing its citizens. They were taking turns to monitor the Hub and as it was Sunday, Ianto dressed in jeans and a plain black tee before venturing out to find Jack, breakfast and coffee.  
Jack looked up from frying pan as Ianto moved towards the coffee machine. 'Oh praise the gods cooking the bacon worked. I didn't want to wake you but I'm dying here.'  
Ianto snorted. 'I think we both know that's bollocks.'  
Jack narrowed his gaze. 'I'm not sure I like your friendship with Owen. He's a bad influence on your language young man.' He shook his head as he was laughed at but still accepted the cup of coffee he was handed. 'Just consider yourself told, and I shall accept this token as the apology I'm sure it isn't.' He sat his cup at the table and placed a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast in front of Ianto before setting one at his own seat.  
'How long have you been awake?' Ianto's eyes falling on four stacks of folders. Each folder represented a resume. Jack having finally accepted they needed a bigger team and decided to actually look at the resumes that occasionally turned up on his desk, rather than ignoring them.  
'Maybe three hours.'

Ianto nodded. In the last two weeks his nightmares had begun to fade and he woke less often in the night. Although Jack still climbed into his bed and just held him during the worst of it. Although there were times, like last night, when they simply fell into the same bed for expediency's sake. They both accepted it as a sign of his improving health that Jack had been able to leave Ianto sleeping for three hours and not wake him when he did leave.  
'And the resumes?'  
'I like the look of one or two. We got a few local applicants to look at as well your London friends, although UNIT and MI6 scooped up some of the ones you recommended.'  
'And your sorting system?' Pointing to the four distinct piles.  
Jack grinned as he chewed his bacon before waving his knife at the folders. The neatest pile were indicated as the "not looked at yet" section. The largest were the "hell no's" following in decreasing height order by the "meh, maybe" and the "almost possibly could be a maybe" pile.  
Ianto ignored the opportunity to take a dig at the older man's organizational skills as he pulled the two folders in the, "almost possibly could be a maybe" pile, closer to his plate and opened the top one. His eyebrow rose as he looked from the photo to Jack. 'I see.' The smile was a little gap toothed, something his mother had a saying about that he couldn't quite remember. Other than that the young woman was reasonably attractive in a classic Welsh way with her pale complexion and dark hair. 'Recruiting from the constabulary are we?'  
Jack sipped his coffee and nodded. 'She scored well in her training and she's reasonably local.'  
'If you count growing up in Swansea as local.' Ianto muttered as he flicked though the file before putting it aside to open the next one. This time he grinned. 'Doctor Grace Mortimer.'  
'You know her?'  
'Oh I think she'll give your team a run for their money.'  
'It's our team Yan, you're part of it too.'  
'I know.' He set his fork down and sighed. 'I keep reaching for my phone, checking for a text or to see if she's called yet.'  
Jack leaned over and patted his hand. 'Tell me about Grace.' He knew platitudes didn't work so he fell back on distracting Ianto with work since sex wasn't an option.

Ianto smiled as he switched his mind away from what he'd lost and instead thought of the motherly woman he'd known as Dr Death. 'She used to be a coroner so her sense of humour is, a little.' He took a breath and exhaled slowly. 'Dark.'  
'Do you think she'll benefit the team?'  
'Jack, I think the teletubbies would benefit the team if they could fill out a report and put their coffee cups in the dishwasher.'  
'Okay, how about we have another coffee while you consider answering my question.'  
'You just want another one.'  
Jack smiled, his hands clasped as if in prayer while he watched Ianto laugh at him.  
'You've met my sister and her kids, you should know that doesn't work on me.'  
'Please?' This time he added the fluttering eyelashes to his smile, grinning when it worked and Ianto rose to his feet. He sat entranced by the view of Ianto in jeans as he moved to work his coffee magic. Trying to recall what they were talking about.  
'Grace is at least in her mid forties or possibly early fifties not that I'd ever ask a woman how old she is. And definitely not one that could chop me up at speed and forensically dispose of the evidence.' He handed Jack a fresh cup of coffee. 'She swapped pathology for microbiology and botany maybe ten years ago. She was poached from UNIT not long after I started at One. She's an excellent cook, a crack shot and a self confessed trainee crazy cat lady.'  
'Trainee?'  
'Only has two cats.'  
'There's a quota?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'Don't know.'  
'I thought you knew everything.'  
'Not about cats.'  
'So field agent or Hub?'  
'Probably Hub but I would suggest asking her that question Sir. Where was she when.' He stopped speaking, unable to say the words that would have taken his sentence to it's logical conclusion.  
'Her lab was on lock down, file says her assistant tripped an alarm so they were trapped at the time.'  
Ianto frowned. 'Which assistant?'  
'Jacob Curuthers. He's in my hell no pile.'  
'Best keep it that way Sir.'  
'Really?' Jack leaned forward wondering what the story was there when his wrist strap beeped.  
'Is that our monster Sir?'  
'It is, if you think you're up to it?' Jack grinned when Ianto nodded. 'Looks like we're heading to the industrial zone.'  
'I thought that was a nightclub Sir.'  
'You really have been spending too much time with Owen.' Jack finished his coffee. 'Come on, SUV's loaded.'  
'You have a monster trapping kit in the SUV?'  
'Well no, but I don't see you wanting to shove it in the back of your audi if we do catch it.'  
'Very true Sir.'

They reached the co-ordinates from the wrist strap in half the time any sane person would have managed it. A feat earning Jack a raised eyebrow.  
'What?'  
'And you wonder why I don't let you drive my car.'  
'I'm a perfectly good driver.'  
'Compared to what? A stunt driver on LSD?' This time Ianto followed the raised eyebrow with a proper eye rolling. 'Come on then, which warehouse is it?'  
'Um, that one.' Jack pointed, tossing his coat into the SUV he pulled a large syringe out that he tucked into the pocket of his pants.  
'If you stab yourself with that what am I supposed to tell Owen?'  
'I'll wake up eventually.' He locked the vehicle and looked around at the warehouses surrounding them before heading towards one that looked like it should have a condemned sticker on the door.  
'Wait, that's the sum total of your monster hunting kit?'  
'We don't know what it is do we.'  
'What about a net?'  
'Butterfly or T-Rex?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'Okay fair point.' He opened the door and stepped aside. 'You first, Sir.'  
Jack grinned, entering the gloomy warehouse. 'Love it when you call me Sir.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes again, following Jack he pulled the door closed behind him. He was about to step after the older man when he found himself pushed against the wall with the captains body pressed against his. 'Um Sir?'  
'Should have brought the net.'  
'Butterfly Sir?' His tone hopeful.  
'Ah no, pterodactyl I think. Or pteranodon I didn't have long enough to tell.'  
'And you think flirting with me will help?'  
'Well I feel better.' Jack muttered as he moved to stand beside Ianto, back to the wall. 'You can be a real smart arse sometimes, Jones, Ianto Jones.'  
'Being in mortal danger has that effect on me, you know that.'  
'We don't know that the purple goo was going to kill us.'  
'I didn't want to find out.'  
'And your issue with authority figures?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'You're just lucky I don't see you as having much authority.'  
'That doesn't explain getting lippy to a judge.'

Ianto blushed in the gloom. 'That was a one time thing.' He decided to change the subject. 'So, about this wee beastie, how are we going to catch him, her, whatever.'  
'Easy. I'll distract it and you hit it with this.' He handed Ianto the syringe.  
'Ah ha, and if you get torn to shreds?'  
'I'll heal, you wont.'  
'I wasn't offering to be bait Sir.' He handed the syringe back. 'But we could use a plan B.'  
'You have a plan B?'  
'Of course.' He grinned at a somewhat flabbergasted Jack as he pulled something from the inside pocket of his denim jacket.  
'Chocolate?'  
'Why not, it works on you.'  
'So. I'm hardly a bloody, well I'll be.' Jack watched in disbelief as Ianto broke a piece of chocolate off and tossed it at the approaching dinosaur. 'I wasn't expecting that to work.' He muttered, watching the creature stalk the chocolate and eat it. Not really sure why Ianto had chocolate in his jacket pocket in the first place, he considered this might not be the best time to ask.  
'It'll work faster if you give Rex the injection.'  
'Oh yeah.'

Jack pulled the cap off the needle, flashing a typical grin he charged in and grabbed the creatures leg. Scooping him up it rose off the ground, powerful wings taking it airborne even with the added weight of a captain tagging along for the ride. Reviewing his current circumstances Jack remembered he had a mission and managed to stab the needle into the dinosaur and depress the plunger. Everything was a bit blurry after that as they dived around the warehouse a few times before plummeting to the ground.

Ianto watched in disbelief as Jack flew with the dinosaur before they began to loose height and fall. 'Oh god.' He groaned as he moved to try and break Jack's fall. He might come back from death but the Welshman rationalized a broken leg would still hurt while it healed. Added to which, Owen would hardly be one to pass up the opportunity to give them both shit for their efforts. And no one liked a smug Englishman.  
Jack found himself lying on Ianto until the Welshman flipped them over and the pteranodon hit the floor where they had just been. Chests heaving with adrenalin they stared into each others eyes while they lay pressed against each other. Debating the wisdom of an impulsive kiss Jack found himself disappointed when Ianto rose to his feet. Even as a hand stretched out to help him stand.  
'Nothing broken Sir?'  
'Nope.'  
'Then we should really work out what to do with your sleeping friend.'  
'She can live in the Hub.'  
'I'm not going to ask how you were able to determine the creature is a she but I do question keeping her in the Hub.'  
'We can't drop her of at the animal shelter can we. It will be fine, you'll see, she can be a sort of guard dog. Plenty of space to fly around and it isn't like we can send her home.'  
'Is this where you tell me you have previously trained one of these to do tricks Sir?'  
Jack shook his head as he moved to pick her up. 'It can't be that hard, I've been able to train Owen with some success.'  
'That's debatable.' Ianto muttered in Welsh, smiling at Jack as he moved to help him carry the Hub's new flying guard dog towards the SUV. 'And when she eats someone?'  
Jack shook his head. 'She eats mostly fish, humans are too big but I imagine it would hurt if she did bite someone.'  
'There's a cheery thought Sir.'

The drive back to the Hub was also conducted in full, terrifying, Captain Jack Harkness style and they arrived just as the pteranadon began to stir. They managed to get her unloaded before she completely woke up.  
Dusting himself off Ianto turned to Jack. 'I used to think the others were drinking too much coffee when they'd come in all jittery after going out in the field with you. Now however I suspect it's more of a comment on your driving.'  
'I haven't met a vehicle I couldn't drive yet.'  
'Yes.' Ianto intoned in his usual deadpan way. 'But how many of them did you crash first?'  
Jack looked at Ianto before shaking his head and moving towards a computer. 'We're going to need fish and some straw or something.'  
Ianto nodded. 'She'll also need some sort of nesting box, I imagine she'll like something high up to roost in. And should we get her micro-chipped Sir?'  
'What?'  
'In case she gets lost.'  
Jack sighed as he looked at Ianto and shook his head. 'Definitely spending too much time with Owen.'  
Ianto maintained his neutral expression as he approached the slowly waking dinosaur with the remainder of the chocolate. 'Hello Myfanwy, have some more chocolate, it's good for your serotonin levels.'  
Jack wondered over. 'Myfanwy?' He watched the Welshman shrug.  
'She needs a name if she's going to be the Hub pet. Or were you just going to put a collar on Owen?'  
'I'm sure he'd like that but I don't think it'll be me doing that any time this side of, oh, ever.'  
Ianto looked at Jack and gave him a quiet almost appraising smirk as he continued to feed Myfanwy. He gave her head a scratch before walking away, only turning back when he heard a yelp.  
'She nipped me.'  
'What did you do?'  
'What did I do? She nipped me. She let you pat her head, but she nipped me.'  
'You forget, you stabbed her with a needle and I gave her chocolate.'  
'Well isn't that lovely, guess you've got a new pet Ianto.'  
'I would have preferred a kitten.' He nodded as he flashed a brief, barely there smile before walking away, leaving Jack staring at his retreating back.

Jack followed him wondering if he had been serious in saying he wanted a cat or if it had been a joke. Since Lisa, there were times when he was never quite sure if Ianto was being literal or sarcastic. It had been much easier when the younger man was more likely to smile, now however he seemed to guard his smiles, holding them to himself. Finding Ianto in the bathroom washing his face Jack had to consider that the kitten comment was less of a throw away remark and had more of a story behind it. He let his hand rest on the younger man's shoulder giving him the peace to speak if he needed it.  
Ianto sighed. 'I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that to trigger anything.'  
'You can get a cat or a kitten if you want one, you'll have to keep it at home rather than the Hub mind.'  
'The large flying dinosaur might eat it you think.'  
Jack nodded. 'That thought did cross my mind.'  
'I don't think I want a cat, it was just one of those things Lisa and I used to talk about.' He dried his face and hands. 'It just never seemed like the right time.'  
'I wanted a cat, when I was with Lucia she said she had allergies.' He held the door for Ianto as they moved out into the Hub.   
'You didn't want one after that?'  
'I live in a bunker under my office in a secret underground base, where would I put the cat door.'  
'Not really a secret base either, ask anyone where Torchwood is and they all point here. And the SUV, hardly a discrete vehicle.'  
'We are invisible in our visibility Ianto.'  
He smiled. 'The old hiding in plain sight shtick.'  
'It works.'

Ianto laughed as he reached the kitchen and the remains of their abandoned breakfast. 'Come on, I'll wash, you can dry, it'll be faster than trying to get everything though the dishwasher.'  
'Then we need to find some fish and rig up something for Myfanwy to sleep in.'  
'You don't think a basket under your desk will work?'  
'Maybe in the autopsy suite but can you imagine what Owen will say?'  
'Whatever it is, it will contain liberal sprinklings of the sort of language my sister would not approve of and the word oi.' He added the dish washing liquid to the water and began washing plates.  
'You're probably right.'  
Ianto laughed. 'Probably?' Setting a plate in the draining rack. 'One question.'  
'Yes?'  
'You going to tell the others before or after they come to work tomorrow that we caught a dinosaur and let it go in the Hub?' He watched Jack's grin grow. 'After then.'  
'Come on, lets get this lot sorted and I'll buy you lunch at the pub before we go looking for fish and straw and a giant box or something.'  
'Will this be a working lunch Sir, or are you trying to ask me out?'  
'Definitely a working lunch, if I was asking you out you'd know.'

 

Jack returned to their table having ordered and watched as Ianto relaxed into his pint. 'I don't know how you can drink that stuff.'  
'It's a proper Welsh bitter Jack, it took me ages to find anywhere selling it in London.'  
'But a beer called Brains?'  
'Maybe whoever made the original batch couldn't spell his name and there's a family of Brian's wondering what all the fuss is about.'  
Jack sipped his water and resisted rolling his eyes at his friend and lunch companion.  
'Anyway, you said this was a working lunch.'  
'I did, so I'm assuming you've seen all the files I haven't yet reviewed.'  
'Of course.'  
'So who should I hire?' He had to work out exactly when Ianto had become less of an archivist and more of a personal assistant. But the man really did seem to know everything.  
'I don't know about hiring but you should interview both Grace and Pip.'  
'Pip? I'm not looking for a back up singer in a girl band.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes. 'Really? I actually meant a former field agent from Torchwood One, he's oddly unemployed at the moment. Marshall Pippins, former British Marine, also speaks fluent French and German -.'  
Jack cut in. 'Don't get much call for that in Wales Yan.'  
'No but you have a tourist office for a front door.'  
'I need field agents not a receptionist.'  
'True and you could just hire someone like the PC for that.'  
'So you think I need someone in the tourist office too?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'Why upset the Cardiff Tourist Board by not having it open if it's there.'  
'I'll take that under consideration. How well do you know Pip?'  
'He's the one who kept trying to get me out of the archives and into the field.'  
'I hate him already.'  
'Jealous Jack?' Ianto teased.  
'I thought I made it clear several weeks ago that I was pulling rank and am the only one who will be flirting with you Mr Jones.'  
'And I told you I'm not gay. Neither is Pip although he is divorced.'  
'Okay, so I'm warming up to him but would he move to Cardiff?'  
'I think so and I think you'll like him, He's one of those guys who isn't happy unless he's blowing something up and he'd move to Australia if it meant he got to keep working for Torchwood.'  
'And you think I should interview him?'  
Ianto nodded as their lunch arrived.  
Walking back into the Hub Jack considered options for a nesting box for their newest edition to the team. He just didn't see how it could be made to work and decided to call Suzie in. Her skills with a blow torch weren't just decorative. And as his second he should probably actually talk to her about his plans to expand the team, before he started interviewing anyone.

\----------

Suzie walked into the Hub and called out. 'This better be important Jack.' She tossed her bag onto her desk and pulled a gun as she caught movement out the corner of her eye. 'What the fuck?'  
Ianto popped up and held his hands out. 'Don't shoot, her name is Myfanwy.'  
Gun tucked away Suzie smoothed the fabric of her shirt down and looked around for Jack before taking in the sight of the large flying reptile. 'What the hell is that?'  
'Pteranadon.' Jack grinned as he leaned over a railing. 'We finally caught her and I decided to keep her.'  
'Oh.'  
Jack nodded. 'Yeap. But we need to rig up something for a nesting box for her and I'm drawing a blank.'  
'So you called me in. On my day off?'  
'Yeap. Can you do it?'  
Suzie tilted her head to one side as she looked up at Jack and glared at him. 'Of course I can.'  
'Excellent, never doubted you could, and since you're here, there is something else I need to talk to you about.'  
She groaned. 'Oh god, you've discovered that Owen has a twin brother and he's joining the team?'  
'What, no.'  
'Then Ianto has a twin brother and he's joining the team and the rest of us can flirt with him?'  
'No.' Jack sighed. 'But we do need some additional people on the team.'  
'Well yeah, we've all been saying that for ages.' She reached for a pad and a pencil and began making notes and sketching an idea for the nesting box. 'Does this mean you're actually going to do it?'  
'I've been looking at a few of the resumes that turn up on occasion, and with the fall of One it leaves a few more highly qualified individuals free to be snapped up.'

Suzie put her pencil down and looked at him. 'I thought you hated One? Even with Ianto being okay.'  
'Yeah well, we need people, then we can all take turns to have weekends off.'  
Looking around she nodded. 'You have me there.' Smiling when she saw Ianto with his tray. 'You are a prince among men Ianto.'  
He gave her an exaggerated nod as she took her cup. 'My lady.'  
'Oi, we've been over this.' Jack snatched his cup off the tray and turned to Suzie. 'No flirting with Ianto.' He watched as they both rolled their eyes at him and sipped their coffee. 'Fine, so we've established we need more people. Ianto has suggested a few names of people from London I should talk to.'  
Suzie smiled. 'Do you need me there for that?'  
'I think I can hire a few extra bodies for the team.'  
'Sure but if you aren't rescuing them where's the challenge?'  
Jack knew she was referring to how both Tosh and Owen joined the team and chose to simply smile over the rim of his coffee cup in lieu of a response.  
Putting her now empty coffee cup down she shook her head, curls dancing as she grinned. 'Whatever, apparently I have to build a cage for your giant bird.' She began walking away but stopped. 'Are you going to tell the other two?'  
'About hiring more staff or Myfanwy?'

Suzie sighed as she saw the laughter in Jack's eyes. 'Whatever, just don't go too far, I'll need help getting your bird box in place.' Casting a critical eye around the Hub as she looked for the best place to put it, assuming they needed access and to be able to lock it in on occasion that narrowed the options.  
Jack turned around, looking for Ianto, finding him in his office setting two folders on the desk. Leaning against the door frame he gave the younger man his best lecherous grin. 'Suzie's happy for you to take me in hand you know.'  
Ianto stopped moving as he considered his reaction to Jack's words, to the softly rising heat pooling low in his body at the very idea. 'I doubt that Sir.'  
Levering himself upright Jack tucked his hands in his pockets and sauntered towards Ianto. 'With hiring on a few more staff. Unless you were thinking other thoughts.'  
Ianto swallowed his uncertainty and hoped he'd covered it up as he replied. 'I ah, still think you should talk to Grace and Pip.'  
'So those would be the files you put on my desk?' He stepped closer to Ianto, knowing he was unsettling him as he moved into his personal space. 'With their contact numbers and everything?'  
'Perhaps not everything Sir.'  
Jack smiled. 'I guess not, but perhaps you should call them and invite them to meet me.'  
'Where?'  
'You don't think I should invite them here?' He watched as Ianto raised an eyebrow and said nothing. 'Fine, I could always meet them at home or something.'  
'That might be wise, Sir.'  
Jack smiled. 'What would I do without you.'  
'Drink instant coffee, Sir.' He smiled as Jack laughed.  
'You make that sound like it equates with having to go clubbing with Owen.'  
Ianto raised his eyebrow once more and simply smiled.

'A little to the left Jack, and Ianto, hold the bloody ladder steady.' Suzie tightened the bolt she was working on and checked her creation was holding. 'Okay boys, that should do it. Now we just need the giant chicken to test it out.'  
'She's not a chicken you know.'  
Suzie barked out a sharp laugh. 'Says you.'  
Ianto began setting straw into the box and calling for Myfanwy as Jack walked with Suzie to her work station.  
Suzie kept her voice low as she turned to Jack. 'Myfanwy?'  
'What?' He shrugged. 'Ianto named her.'  
'Hmm, and he still having nightmares?'  
'Is this your way of asking if I'm still sleeping in his bed at night?'  
She shrugged. 'Are you?'  
'I'm not sure I like what you're implying young lady.'  
'You don't have to Jack, you're different since he came here, and don't get me wrong, it's a good different. But now what?'  
'Meaning.'  
'Permission to speak frankly Sir?' She teased.  
He waved his hand, indicating she should go on.  
'You don't have to send him back to London and all that entails any more, so. What are your intentions towards our archivist?'  
'Wow, his sister didn't even ask that.'  
She leaned against her desk and raised her eyebrows, waiting.  
'Maybe I don't have an answer Suzie.' He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at some scrap metal. 'Maybe I'm trying to work that out for myself.'  
'And what about what he wants?'  
'I don't know what I want, do you really think I know what he wants?' Jack looked around and his eyes found Ianto, standing on the platform Suzie had installed. 'He's up there patting a dinosaur. I think right now he's focused on not losing a finger.'  
'Not what I meant Jack.'  
He leaned against a wall and sighed. 'Not that I'm complaining but why the older sister routine all of a sudden?'  
'I may have realized that I like the way things are right now, and I don't want to go back to a world with instant coffee in it.'  
'No, I don't think any of us want that.'  
'Hence my playing the proverbial big sister.'  
'Fine, I appreciate the concern, even if it is a little self serving.'  
Suzie smiled. 'I see you understand.' Moving towards him she linked her arm though his. 'So who are you looking at interviewing?'  
'A field agent and a scientist from London, if Ianto manages to get them to Cardiff.'  
She laughed. 'I have no doubts that young man can do just that. But seriously, you aren't going to tell Tosh or Owen about the chicken?'  
Jack laughed. 'She's not a chicken.'  
'That's not an answer.'

Jack saw Suzie out and went looking for Ianto, who he found in his office. 'That's my desk.'  
Ianto looked up as he ended his phone call and nodded. 'It is.'  
'I thought I got you one of your own, with a phone and everything.'  
'In the archives, the folders I needed were on your desk.'  
Jack nodded. 'Okay, you get hold of them?'  
'Grace is out of the country and will let me know when she's back, but Pip will be here on Wednesday.'  
'Excellent, then we should go home.'  
'We need to stop at the market.'  
'We always need to stop at the market.' Jack muttered as they headed for the underground parking garage.  
'I know.'  
Jack turned to the Welshman and frowned. 'You don't sound very excited by that.'  
'You're like a giant five year old with unlimited funds, what's not to be excited about.' Ianto shook his head as Jack just nodded. He sighed and unlocked the audi. 'Come on, but I'm pushing the trolley.'  
'You never let me have any fun.'  
Ianto looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes at Jack, choosing to say nothing as he watched the older man sigh and get in the car. With a final shake of his head Ianto also got in the car, shopping with Jack was not one of his preferred ways to spend a Sunday afternoon but they did need groceries.  
He liked that his life was becoming more normal, with Lisa's death he didn't expect anything to feel okay again. So he let himself simply be as they moved though each day. But he did wonder what was going to happen next.


	8. Tuesday

Monday arrived and Suzie walked into the Hub early, catching Jack flirting with Ianto at the coffee machine. She grinned as they both spun around in surprise.  
'You're early.'  
'I know.'  
Jack shook his head. 'You're never early.'  
'You've never had a giant chicken in the Hub before.'  
This was the point where Ianto chose to wade into the conversational fray. 

'Myfanwy is hardly a chicken.'  
'We don't know that, the evolutionary path of the dinosaur hasn't been fully established nor their genes mapped so for all we know, she is a giant chicken.'  
'Well that makes me feel better about the roast we had for dinner last night.' Ianto muttered as he turned back to the coffee machine.  
'You just want to see how the other's react to Myfanwy.'  
'That.' She nodded as she followed Jack to his office. 'And I wanted to know if you managed to talk anyone into joining the team yet.'  
'I'm meeting with the field agent on Wednesday.'  
'Hmm, do you have a picture?'  
'In his file I think.' He watched as her eyes grew a little wider and her smile predatory. 'Hang on, that isn't permission for you to shag the guy.'  
'Oh please, like you aren't trying to get -.' She stopped speaking when she saw Ianto coming towards them with the expected tray of coffees. 'You are still a prince among men Ianto.' She looked at Jack and smiled. 'Oh I know, no flirting with Ianto.'  
'Thank you.' Jack reached for his cup and nodded. 'I'm glad you understand.'

Ianto rolled his eyes as he took his tray back to the coffee machine. Tosh would be expecting her hazelnut mocha and she was about five minutes away from walking though the cog door. That and he had other things to be getting on with than listening to Jack and Suzie playing verbal tennis.  
Suzie arched her eyebrows at Jack as Ianto walked away. 'Don't think this conversation is finished.'  
'No, it probably isn't but I have never asked more from him than he's willingly given me. I never do.' He was treated to a smile, something almost as rare as Ianto's smiles. He wondered what was in her past that drew shadows in her eyes. She was the one member of his team who he knew the least about. And yet, after Ianto, she was the one he most trusted. After Ianto, two words to ponder another time as the cog door alarm sounded, announcing the arrival of Tosh. And surprisingly, with her was Owen.  
Suzie's smile changed as she moved to watch her team mates. 'Oh this is about to get fun.'

Ianto looked up, hearing Owen before he saw him and rolled his eyes. Of all the days to be on time. He debated turning back to the coffee machine or waiting for the Englishman to notice Myfanwy. Perversity won as he looked up and watched her stalk to the edge of her platform and launch into flight. She was truly a thing of beauty. As was Owen's scream. Setting Tosh's coffee down he moved to stand beside Jack. 'Should I get the brandy Sir?'  
'Nope.'  
Tosh looked over at the three of them watching herself and Owen. Suzie was laughing and Jack was grinning while Ianto remained unreadable. 'I suppose you three knew about this?'  
'Of course.' Jack nodded. 'Ianto and I caught her yesterday, and Suzie helped us set her nesting box up.'  
Owen uncurled from the floor and rose to unsteady feet as he turned to Suzie. 'You knew about the sodding dinosaur! And you didn't think to tell us?'  
'Hay, why are you shouting at me? They didn't tell me about that blasted giant chicken either.'  
Tosh shook her head. 'It's a pteranodon, not a chicken. The theory that chickens are descended from dinosaurs is linked to raptors and the much maligned t-rex, not the flying reptiles.'  
Owen turned to her and shook his head. 'What?'  
'Well the theory about this is still in it's infancy but the research I've been reading seems sound.' She shrugged. 'I wouldn't be surprised if a link isn't found between chickens and dinosaurs before too long.'  
'See, told you she's a giant chicken.' Suzie pointed out.  
'No, I can find you the research that shows you about the link between -.'  
Owen cut in. 'Before you do that, do you think someone could explain to me why the fuck anyone thought it would be a good idea to let a sodding dinosaur loose in the Hub. Where we sodding work!'

Jack turned to Ianto. 'You said he'd use the word oi.'  
'Well I got the rest of it right.'  
Suzie shook her head as she muttered to herself. 'Get a room and get it over with.' Seeing the two men speaking in half conversations was making her revise a few of her earlier concerns about Jack and Ianto.  
Tosh looked at Owen. 'I think it's fascinating, a real living piece of our history flying around the Hub.'  
'Until it tries to eat you.'  
She moved to her computer and pulled up a search engine. 'I think you'll find they primarily eat fish and small animals so if you don't look too much like a rat, you should be fine.' Flashing him her sweetest smile.  
Suzie moved to see what Tosh was looking at. 'I was thinking we could train her to only eat food coated in a special sauce to help avoid that too.' She smiled as Owen seemed to relax at this idea. 'If only so she doesn't wind up with indigestion if she did try to eat Owen.'  
'Oi. I resent that remark.'

Ianto looked at Jack with his eyebrow raised and smiled as the older man shook his head.  
'Doesn't count if it's after the fact.'  
'Just as well we didn't put any money on it then Sir.'

Looking over at the two men standing close together Owen nudged Suzie and Tosh. 'What do you reckon Captain and Tennille are whispering about?'  
Tosh sighed as she basked in the idea that she might get some vicarious romancing even if only second hand. 'I think they would make a great couple.'  
'Shame Ianto's pretty straight, although I don't think we could same the same for our good captain.' Owen pointed out.  
Suzie snorted. 'We are so not having this conversation again and it hardly matters what either man's preference is.'  
'You can't ignore the fact that period military dress -.'  
'Is hardly the sort of thing a straight man wears, yes Owen, we've all heard it before.' Suzie turned back to the file Tosh was creating for Myfanwy. 'And we all know he'll shag anything he thinks is pretty enough.'  
Tosh nodded. 'Even you have to admit that certainly applies to Ianto.'  
Suzie shrugged. 'I can appreciate a good looking man and it's nice to up the quota around here.'

Ianto looked over to the three individuals huddled around Tosh's work station and found Jack standing at his side.  
'They are up to something Yan.'  
'Aren't they always Sir.'  
'Perhaps you should distract them with coffee.'  
It occurred to Ianto that if he turned even a little, his nose would possibly touch Jack's neck the man was that close to him, so he continued to look ahead instead. 'Of course you'd be wanting another coffee too, Sir.'  
'Of course.' Jack stepped back so he wasn't crowding Ianto, turning towards him with his most genuine smile in place. One that didn't show all his teeth or look even remotely lecherous. 'You know I'm not going to say no to you Ianto.'  
In an unguarded moment Ianto let himself give an honest, unfiltered answer. 'I know you wouldn't but I'm not sure I'm ready to ask.'  
Jack let his hand move to rest on Ianto's arm. 'I'll be there when you are.'  
'I know Sir.'  
Jack watched as Ianto and his suit walked away from him, unsure if they had just said what he hoped they had been saying in that simple exchange of words. Could he let himself consider that Ianto might be trying to meet him in the middle of his flirtations? Or was he looking for a dream in a friendship that had no room for romance.

\----------

Suzie walked into Jack's office and threw herself into the seat usually reserved for Ianto. 'I thought that went well.'  
He looked up from his paperwork and frowned. 'What did?'  
'Not telling the others about the giant chicken.'  
'Oh, that.'  
'That?' Suzie laughed. 'And you don't think you should tell the other two about your plan to hire a few extra bodies for the team?'  
Jack put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. 'Perhaps I want to give them time to adapt to having Myfanwy around, and why get their hopes up if I don't hire anyone else.'  
'You don't have to play it all so close to your chest Jack. You could, and this is going to sound crazy, but you could share a little with the team.'  
'I share.'  
'Yeah, we've all seen you sharing with Ianto but you keep everything else buttoned up.' She held her hand up as he startled to bristle. 'Nope, I'm your second so I can say shit like that.'  
'I'll let the others know if I decide to hire anyone else on. Happy?'  
She shrugged. 'For now.'  
He pulled a folder out of a draw and tossed it at her. 'This is who I'm meeting Wednesday.' Waiting as she read the file.  
'Wow, he looks good on paper.'  
'Yeah, Ianto recommended him, said he's a really nice guy and everything.'  
She set the file on his desk and leaned forward. 'Wait, are you jealous?'  
'They knew each other in London, and no but Ianto said the same thing when we were having lunch yesterday.'  
'You don't take any of us out for lunch.'  
'Now who's jealous.' He smiled as he reached for the folder. 'Maybe when this is all sorted I'll take everyone out for a karaoke night.'  
'What is your obsession with karaoke? You remember how that ended last time.'  
He shrugged. 'Third times the charm?'  
'You are impossible Jack.'  
'You should see him at the market.' Ianto walked in with a tray of coffees.  
Suzie smirked at the slightly weary tone in the younger man's voice. 'Oh I've made that mistake before.' Taking the coffee she was handed and inhaling the perfect blend of vanilla and freshly roasted beans. 'Tell me about Marshall Pippins.'

Ianto's smile was brief but honest. 'He has a bit of an issue with authority, and he refuses to drink anything other than good single malt whiskey. Divorced with a teenage daughter who's incredibly smart, like her father. He speaks several languages like a native and can blend into a crowd and disappear like a ghost.'  
'Sounds like James Bond, except for the kid.' Suzie considered what she'd heard. 'But how does speaking several languages help a Torchwood field agent?'  
'Oh he wasn't always Torchwood and I think you would all like him.' Ianto gave her a wink before scooping up his tray and doing his own attempt at a disappearing act.  
Suzie shook her head and turned back to a pouting Jack. 'I like the sound of this guy.'  
He tossed her another folder. 'What about this one? Since you seem to be paying an interest all of a sudden.'  
She laughed as she opened the folder. 'I'm glad you're not jealous Jack.'

It was a quiet day, something the entire team appreciated since it allowed them a chance to adjust to the presence of the pteranadon in the Hub. After reviewing resumes with Suzie Jack found himself watching the team, Tosh was lost in her research while Owen sat at his microscope muttering every time Myfanwy screeched or swooped past him. Ianto was in the archives and in the kitchen Suzie worked on a BBQ sauce to put on the pteranadon's food so she could be trained to only eat Ianto approved snacks. He wasn't totally sceptical about the idea but if it worked, it was disappointing that they wouldn't be able to tell anyone.

Each time they saved the world or even just Cardiff, there was no one outside of this team that they could share that with. Making him even more guarded of his time spent with Ianto outside of the Hub. What would happen, he wondered, when the day came that his archivist was ready to face the world once more. He knew it was selfish to hope that day was a long time in coming but he couldn't wish it away. In the back of his mind was a fear, that Ianto speaking with someone he knew in London might hasten his need to find himself outside of Jack's home. But that fear could not be placed higher than the needs of the team. Putting his concerns aside Jack decided it was time to send everyone home for the day.

\----------

Ianto knew Tuesdays were difficult for Jack. Even on the ones where he didn't take a boat ride across the channel to the facility he'd set up to care for those unfortunate enough to be spat back out by a capricious rift. People stolen by time and space and damaged beyond all ability to be healed. Entering the office Ianto set a coffee on the desk. 'Will you ever tell the others Jack?'  
Hanging the phone up the captain shook his head. 'Not if I can spare them this Yan.'  
'So you carry another unbearable burden to protect the very people you could tell?'  
'If this is one nightmare I can spare them I will.' He picked his cup up and slouched deeper into his chair. The extra hit of chocolate providing a sense of peace that was welcome in the face of the madness of Tuesday. 'It's not that different to the coffee you make us, each variation based on what you sense we need.'  
'How does that relate to Flat Holm?'  
'I tell them what they can handle carrying into their dreams.'  
'But who looks after your dreams Jack?'  
He smiled over his coffee. 'Right now you do.'

Jack watched Ianto walking away and considered the man, his coffee and his parting words. He did trust him with his dreams and that was something he hadn't had in a very long time. Not even Sophia who he'd married several lifetimes ago, nor fellow Torchwood agent Lucia had given him the support the unassuming Welshman provided. And perhaps he should share a little more with his team, he'd told Suzie about meeting with Pip tomorrow and the world hadn't ended. Ianto still made them all coffee and Flat Holm still needed him. And there was the tiny fact that if he was to leave with the Doctor, someone would have to oversee the island facility and the needs of the people hidden away from the world there.  
A cold feeling filled his thoughts at the idea of leaving Ianto. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd thought about the Doctor and he suspected it was only a fleeting thought following Canary Wharf and nothing since. Not that he knew if the Doctor would return to Cardiff in this life time. Perhaps it would be a grave he left behind and not a living breathing Welshman. And for the first time in a very long time he wanted to have his forever right where he was. And it scared him.

Suzie moved beside Tosh, sipping her own chocolate infused coffee while she contemplated the effort required to instigate a conversation with her workmates. Curiosity won.  
'How does he do it?'  
Tosh shot a confused look at Suzie. 'How does who do what?'  
'Ianto.'  
The tone of Suzie's statement made Tosh frown. 'What does Ianto do?'  
'Always knows how we like our coffee or what we need.'  
Tosh saved her work, judging by Suzie's tone that the woman was going to need more than the scant amount of attention left over from the program she was working on. 'Do you not have enough conspiracy theories? That you have to chase one that isn't there.'  
Owen joined the two women, pulling his own chair over. 'I'm not so sure there isn't something to it.'  
'Oh god.' Tosh groaned. 'Not you too Owen.'  
'Yes actually me too. You can't tell me you haven't noticed something.'  
'He's just a very perceptive person.'  
Suzie barked a laugh. 'I call bullshit Tosh. Just how perceptive can someone be when they spend their time in Jack's office when not cloistered in the archives? And I've never once heard Ianto ask anyone how they prefer their coffee or if they want tea.' Pointing at the steeping cup of jasmine tea on the edge of the desk. 'Have you?'  
'He must have.'  
Suzie patted Tosh on the arm. 'You are sweet, but he never did.'  
'So what? He must be psychic then?'  
Owen leaned in. 'How else do you explain it.'  
Tosh shook her head. 'You don't actually think that, you're a scientist Owen.'  
Leaning back again he shook his head. 'Doesn't change what I believe Tosh.'  
'Based on?'

Owen started counting his points off on his fingers. 'One, he always makes the perfect drinks for us. Two, he and Jack read each other's minds.'  
'They do not.' She cut in.  
Suzie shook her head. 'Come on Tosh, they do so, we've all seen them do it. All those half conversations and little looks they exchange...'  
'They share a house and just know each other really well.'  
'Not as well as Jack would like.' Owen muttered.  
'And you've been able to read your housemate's minds have you Tosh?' Suzie asked.  
Owen held his hand up, right index finger pointing to his left hand. 'I've got a third point if you're interested.'  
Tosh crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. 'And the third piece of circumstantial evidence your honour?  
'It's in his file.'  
'What?' Tosh spun back to her keyboard as her fingers began flying over the keys.  
'All Torchwood One employees,' Owen stated. 'Received psychic training and evaluations.'  
'But I read his file.'  
'Yeah? The one in the London server? I also read the Torchwood One training guide.'  
Suzie raised an eyebrow as she narrowed her gaze. 'When did you have time for that?'  
'When I was stuck here monitoring the sky's of Cardiff for signs of the giant prehistoric, not chicken, now living in the Hub.'  
'That would explain a few things.'  
Tosh shook her head. 'It does not.'  
'Denial, party of one, your table is ready.' Owen teased. 'Come on Tosh, I've seen you read your horoscope, you can't tell me you don't think there could be something to it.'  
'But the idea of anyone reading my thoughts.' Tosh shook her head. 'He can't read our minds can he?' Directing her question to Owen.  
'Duno.'  
Tosh looked to Suzie. 'What do you think?' Watching as the woman's smile grew mysterious.  
'I don't know, I mean, if it's a weapon then I can pull it apart and put it back together again easily enough but when it comes to people?' She shrugged. 'Not my area of expertise but I do wonder if they all do it.'  
'All who?'  
'The other survivors of One.' Suzie gave them a brief smile before walking away.

\----------

Ianto looked up from the computer database he was working on when he sensed Jack's presence in the room. 'Can I do something for you Sir?'  
Jack sat on the edge of Ianto's desk. 'I think you already have, come on Yan, I'll gather the troops if you bring coffee to the boardroom.'  
'Are you telling them about Pip or Flat Holm, Sir?' Ianto knew the answer but he asked the question anyway. Nodding when Jack just looked at him. 'I see, Sir.'  
Jack clasped Ianto on the shoulder and nodded. 'I didn't realize how much I needed you around here Yan. Now, get those coffee's made.'

Looking back Ianto knew he'd have to admit if pressed that he liked Jack's hand on his shoulder but right now he just let it happen. He had coffee to make, how Jack effected him was a matter of much internal debate and this wasn't the time or the place. But he was growing to realize it was a debate he was going to have to have with himself, whether he wanted to or not. Knowing Jack was attracted to him was one thing, the notion that he didn't find the idea entirely repulsive was starting to to settle in his subconscious. It was perhaps only a matter of time before his conscious self caught up to the idea too.  
Jack stood at the head of the table in the boardroom as everyone filed in, Ianto with his tray at the rear. 'You're probably all wondering why I called you in here today.'  
'Not to practice your showmanship.' Owen retorted with a grin. 'But is this going to take long? I've got a Zelonian thawing in autopsy.'  
'Then we're all safer here.' Ianto remarked, handing coffee cups around.  
'Nope, I'm pretty sure this one wont spontaneously combust.'  
'You said that about the last one.'  
'Whatever teaboy, the captain had your suit cleaned. And it's not like they teach this shit in medical school.'  
'It had to be replaced Owen. Replaced.'  
'Children...' Jack warned. 'I will spank you if you can't play nicely.'  
'I wouldn't mid seeing that.' Tosh smirked.  
'Oi.'  
'Anyway.' Jack continued. 'I've called you here to tell you I've been thinking about hiring a few more people for the team.'  
Tosh nodded. 'That would be nice.'  
'Hang on Mr but I like a small team. Who? It's not like you can slap a card up at the job centre or put a help wanted sign in the window of the tourist office.'  
'No, that's quite true. But I do receive the occasional resume from other, slightly comparable agencies.'  
Suzie didn't bother hiding her grin at Owen's confusion.  
'And.' Jack continued. 'Since the fallout in London left a few highly trained individuals open to the job market, it was pointed out to me that I might want to capitalize on that. So we can all have weekends off.'  
'You want to bring in the leftovers of One?'  
Ianto set his cup down and rose to his feet, towering over the doctor and his disapproving face. 'They are not. Left overs.'  
'Steady on teaboy we don't need any more of your freaky lot here.'  
Ianto cut him off as he banged a fist down on the table. 'Good people died in London. My friends died in London and if some of them survived then Torchwood bloody well owes them.'

Jack looked at Suzie and indicated she should get Owen out of the room with a quick incline of his head as he moved to Ianto and placed a cautious hand on his arm. He was sending calming thoughts to the distraught younger man and hoping like hell Ianto would let him in and not slug him for his efforts.  
Suzie grabbed Owen and strong armed him out the door muttering about being a bloody idiot while ignoring his protesting.  
Tosh looked at Jack who shook his head.  
'Thank you Tosh but perhaps you should go and help Suzie before I shove Owen in with Janet.'  
She nodded as she abandoned her half drunk coffee and scurried out the of the room. She'd seen Jack mad before but this was different. Looking back she saw him fold Ianto into his arms and bring a hand up to cradle the back of his head as he pulled Ianto against him. 

She shut the door behind her as she began looking for Owen and Suzie.  
'What the fuck was that Owen?  
'I'm a bloody doctor.'  
'So? Aren't you supposed to have compassion along with your god complex?'  
'Do you really want the person who has your back in the field to have a PTSD flashback in the middle of a fucking weevil attack?'  
'If you had actually let Jack finish he would have told you that the person he is meeting with tomorrow wasn't actually in the offices on the day the world fell apart.'  
'What?'  
'What? That's all you've got? You can be a real cunt sometimes Owen and if you think decaf or instant coffee is the least of your problems you are very much mistaken.' Suzie shook her head and turned her back on Owen. 'I suggest you go and autopsy your alien before one of us hits you and that fucking lump of frozen cells you care so much about blows up, again.'  
Owen turned to Tosh who shook her head. 'What did I do?'  
'I'll replay the footage from the boardroom shall I? Suzie's right, you don't have any compassion and you can be an oblivious, cunt sometimes.' She turned and walked away from him, wondering, and not for the first time, what she had found so lovable about the pinched faced Doctor Owen Harper.

'How was I supposed to know?' Owen called out after the retreating woman.  
'You could have let me say what I'd called you all into the boardroom to tell you.' Jack stated as he handed Owen a file. 'I suggest you read this before you go home. Ianto and I wont be in tomorrow as we are meeting Marshall Pippins, known to his friends as Pip, so I suggest you call him Mr Pippins.' He poked Owen in the chest with a finger and brought his head close to the doctor, his voice low and icy. 'And I suggest you spend your time between now and when we come back Thursday, working out how to apologize to Ianto.'  
'I was worried about an attack of PTSD in the survivors...' He stopped talking at the look in Jack's eyes.  
'So you induced an attack in one of your fellow team mates instead.' Jack shook his head as he turned away from Owen. 'None of you are irreplaceable Owen.' Walking away he left the stunned doctor standing there staring after his retreating back. Picking his coat up he spoke to Suzie before heading to the garage where Ianto was waiting.  
'Yeah.' Owen muttered to no one as he turned back to his autopsy table. 'If none of us are so irreplaceable why are you chasing after the teaboy.' He rubbed the spot on his chest where Jack poked him and wondered if he hadn't crossed a line this time.

Ianto watched as Jack strode towards him, coat billowing out around his body and felt a twitch of interest from his cock. He contemplated rolling his eyes at himself and the absurdity of being so turned on by the man, but it had clearly stopped bothering him that Jack was, in fact, a man. He focused on being angry with what Owen had said and wondered where it had come from. His body might recognize interest but he wasn't sure his heart was ready to enter the fray.  
Jack read the warring emotions on Ianto's face in a rare unguarded moment and pulled the younger man into his arms and just held him. He felt Ianto relax into his body and rest his head in the crook of his neck. Time spun out around them with all the possibilities present in a single moment before Ianto pulled back and pressed the audi keys into his hand.  
'I don't think I could drive right now. But please don't get any speeding tickets.'  
'I never get speeding tickets.'  
'Only because the SUV has a piece of alien tech the others don't know about, that renders it practically invisible to speed detectors.'  
Jack tilted his head slightly and looked at Ianto. 'You really do know everything don't you.'  
'Not everything Sir.' Ianto disagreed with a sigh.  
'I promise to stick to the speed limit.' He tried to hide his glee at finally being able to drive Ianto's car and managed to condense it into a single grin.  
Ianto felt the wall of ice around his heart melt just a little at that grin as Jack unlocked the car and climbed into the driver's seat. 'Not one scratch either.'  
'Scouts honour.' Jack waited for Ianto to buckle himself into the passengers seat before turning the key. 

He gave a contented little sigh as the engine turned over and he was able to finally drive Ianto's car. He even managed to obey all the road rules on the short journey to the home they shared. Parking the car in the garage at the house he locked it before handing the keys back. 'Thank you Ianto. I know that wasn't easy for you.'  
'It's just a car.'  
Jack laughed. 'We both know that isn't true.' He held the door into the house open. 'What time is Pip getting here tomorrow?'  
'Train should be getting in at about eleven, if it's on time.'  
'Are you picking him up or is he getting a taxi?'  
'I'll pick him up.'  
'Ah.' Jack nodded. 'Give you a chance to brief him on how devastatingly handsome I am and that I only have eyes for my Welsh archivist.' He watched, breath held as he waited for Ianto to respond. Needing to see the hint of acceptance in Ianto's usually expressionless blue eyes, the whole world seemed to wait with him.  
'That wasn't what I was going to open with but it's a thought.' He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, knowing it pulled them tighter across his arse as he walked away from Jack. With just enough of a sway in his step to get the older man's attention and his thoughts openly suggesting that the idea wasn't with out merit.  
Jack finally stopped staring at the space where Ianto had vanished from sight when he felt his heart rate return to normal. Calling out into the house. 'Ianto, do we need to talk about something?' He moved towards the kitchen where he felt Ianto's apprehension mixed with want. Wondering what he would find as he gently called Ianto's name.


	9. Candlesticks

Ianto stood in Jack's kitchen staring at the coffee machine, bottom lip caught between his teeth, Owen forgotten as he considered how much he wanted to change his world by admitting his attraction to Jack. A man he spent most of his nights sleeping next to. His emotions were firing alternating layers of repression and guilt and desire at him. He knew he wasn't betraying Lisa by being attracted to Jack, he still loved her but what he felt for Jack was different. He also didn't feel his sexuality was in question as it was just Jack. No other man could induce such thoughts and send a heat coursing though his veins like the heroine in the stories he'd steal from his sisters room as a kid. It was only ever Jack.  
Doubt whispered to him, asking what if this was some sort of Stockholm type situation. One built on a sense of obligation for the man who did hold him though his nightmares. Fostered by the rush of adrenaline confronting Owen had caused. Or perhaps it was a need built on proximity in the face of his grief. Wasn't he supposed to grieve longer for the loss of the woman he still loved. To follow his father into a bottle and never climb out rather than climbing into Jack's bed. He found himself sighing as he stood there looking at the coffee machine.  
He'd changed out of his work suit and into jeans and one of his plain black tee's before heading to the kitchen to make coffee. It was what he did when they got home but suddenly he wasn't sure what he was doing. He didn't believe this was an older man seducing the wounded innocent leaving them both embittered at the ways of the world. Jack had been careful not to push anything on him and that was part of what made his blatant attraction to the man so confusing.

While he had doubts, he was also convinced that whatever he was feeling for Jack was all him. This wasn't some relationship built in the face of adrenaline fueled disaster, for all that's how it might look to someone on the outside. This was something that had started with the first flirtatious grin he'd been thrown at his first meeting with Jack. A realization that he'd steadfastly been ignoring until now. No matter that he'd never acted on it at the time.  
Jack wasn't surprised to find Ianto in the kitchen, placing a hand on his arm he waited.  
'I.' Ianto faltered and set the coffee beans back down on the kitchen bench. 'I should probably apologize to Owen.'  
'Oh no you don't.'  
'But I over reacted.'  
'And that git couldn't have waited for me to tell them about Pip? He's the first one to bitch that we don't have enough field agents.' He took Ianto's hand and steered him towards the table in the breakfast nook, not letting go of his hand as they sat down. 'And never mind his whining about us not having a back up medic.'

Ianto's lips moved into a brief smile. 'That I've been forced to listen to more than once.' In addition to learning how to fire a gun and psychic self defense all Torchwood One staff received basic battlefield first aid training. Which meant if Owen needed help it was Ianto he called on. It wasn't just alien goo that didn't always come out of his suits. Since finding an online tip about using full fat milk to get rid of blood stains he'd salvaged more clothes than he lost.  
Jack rubbed his thumb over the back of Ianto's hand. 'Owen was playing around in the London server and found the records from One that they didn't give us about you. And about the standard psi training and testing.'  
'That's his problem? Or did he just find out that my shooting record is better than his?'  
Jack shrugged. 'I didn't ask.'  
Ianto scrubbed at his face with his free hand before meeting Jack's gaze. 'So you don't think I need to apologize to the ferret faced git then?'  
Shaking his head as he laughed Jack wrapped both hands around Ianto's. 'No.' Watching as Ianto seemed to relax. 'Not to change the subject but I did wonder if there was something you wanted to talk to me about. Or should I just book us a table somewhere nice and take you out for dinner?'  
'That's quite a subject change if this is that date you said I'd know you were asking me out on.'  
'Only if you want it to be. Unless that's not what you want. A date, I mean, not a way to change the subject or anything.'  
Bringing his free hand to rest on Jack's he gave him a cautious smile. 'I think I'd like that.'

Jack felt like he could breathe again, his smile matching Ianto's. 'I'll, book a table. I know it's early but we could have a few drinks first, make an evening of it.'  
'Okay, do I need to wear a suit or jeans?'  
'Dressy casual should do it.'  
Ianto nodded. 'I'll get changed then.' He rose to his feet, still holding Jack's hand. 'I didn't mean to come between your team like this.'  
'You're part of the team too and Owen's always been a bit of a wanker.'  
'He lost his fiance Jack, I can understand what that feels like.'  
'The funny thing about loss Ianto, nothing we do can change what happened. But we can change how we respond.' He rubbed one last circle in the back of Ianto's hand before releasing him. 'Go, make yourself even more gorgeous and I'll make that phone call.' Smiling as Ianto's laughter trailed after him up the stairs.

Having changed, Ianto walked into the kitchen to find Jack wearing a fresh dark blue shirt and a waistcoat he hadn't been wearing earlier. 'At least we match.'  
Jack grinned as he made no secret of looking the younger man up and down, taking in the neatly pressed black pants and the silk burgundy shirt along with a waistcoat of his own. 'That really is your colour.' Watching as Ianto blushed. 'I've called a taxi.'  
'Are you going to tell me where we are going?'  
'I got us a table at Charmaine's.'  
Ianto nodded. 'I've heard good things about their steaks.'  
Jack was about to comment when a car pulled into the drive. 'That will be us, after you.'

Ianto remembered little of what they actually talked about on his date with Jack. He knew the steaks were as good as they were reported to be, and the house wine was equally as good. Even the desert menu lived up to expectations but they were all insignificant details in comparison to how he felt, sitting in a corner with Jack. Candlelight and soft background music set the scene as he relaxed and enjoyed the meal. He mostly had impressions of being warm and cared for and safe. He didn't even mind the hand holding across the table. After sharing the tiramisu Jack settled the bill and helped Ianto into his coat. Words brushing his ear. 'Walk with me, it's too early to go home.'  
Letting Jack take his hand Ianto followed where he led until they found themselves by the water.

Leaning on a rail he watched Ianto. 'It's different here, at night. Sometimes I can imagine I'm looking down from the stars when I see the lights laid out like this.'  
'Why aren't you in the stars Jack? Why wait here for your Doctor?'  
'I had hoped this was where I would find him. Until someone told me I'd have to watch the century turn first.' He shrugged as if this was nothing before smiling at Ianto. 'And I never know when I'm going to meet someone who makes the waiting worth it.'  
Ianto sighed. 'No pressure there then.'  
Jack laughed as he pulled Ianto into his arms. 'I don't know what tomorrow will bring but I can tell you this, if the Doctor turned up right now I'd be taking you with me. If you'd come.'  
'I'm glad we aren't rushing into anything.' Ianto allowed himself to further relax into the warmth of the arms holding him. 'I'm not even sure what we're doing here.'  
Jack brought a hand up to hold Ianto's cheek. 'I don't know about you, but I could really see myself kissing you, Jones, Ianto Jones.'  
Letting his fears go Ianto leaned into Jack and whispered. 'Perhaps you should.'  
Jack let his lips taste Ianto, holding back least the younger man decide he didn't want this. Fighting with himself to keep the kiss gentle and sweet as their lips moved against each other. When Jack pulled back he heard Ianto laughing softly.  
'You call that a proper kiss?' Ianto reached for Jack's face and pulled him in, lips seeking Jack's in the darkness as he demanded entrance to the older man's mouth. Tongues touching they lost themselves in the kiss until they both pulled back trying to force air into tired lungs. Ianto felt his cheeks flush in the dark. 'I um.'  
Jack held himself still, not wanting to startle Ianto. Perhaps needing to process their shared kiss himself as he spoke softly in the shadows. 'You still with me?'  
'I.' Ianto took a breath and released it slowly. 'Yes.'  
'I wont rush you Yan.'  
'Why me Jack?'

Jack frowned at the layers of uncertainty in Ianto's voice. 'Why not you. You're incredibly smart and witty and funny and you have fantastic comedic timing with the things you say. Mostly to Owen. You are a good friend to Tosh and even Suzie has as much respect for you as she's capable of.' He paused at that thought. 'More than she has for me I think.' He added darkly before smiling once more. 'You make orgasmic coffee of course, and lets face it, you look really good in a suit.' He grinned. 'You look just as good out of one too.'  
'Jack.'  
He shrugged. 'It's true, but it's more than all that. I mean, sure, that's what I saw first but I got to know you. I watched you walk though a fire of loss and pain and come out the other side stronger for it. And you give me something I haven't had in a very long time.' Jack steered them to a park bench sitting in a pool of light. 'You give me acceptance without judgement. I haven't had anyone I could be this open with in a very long time, if at all.'  
'Because I know your secrets.'

He leaned back and let his fingers trace the line of Ianto's jaw a moment before dropping his hand. 'It's not even that, you. You make me want to be here.'  
'Even with the hesitancy and the nightmares?' He rolled his eyes at Jack's expression.  
'How can I hate spending every night in your bed and there wasn't any hesitation in that kiss.' Reaching for Ianto's hand. 'With you I can forget I'm over a hundred years old, with you I'm not so out of my own time. Or alone.'  
'I'll never stop loving Lisa.'  
'And I hope you don't. Love isn't supposed to diminish who we are.'  
'And when you grow tired of me or your Doctor turns up?'  
'Or if you wake up and decide you want children.' Jack countered.  
Ianto snorted. 'I work for Torchwood, I'll be lucky to make it to thirty.'  
'You're an archivist, not a field agent.'  
'Like Reggie or Anna Hamilton and Jos Richards? Even Lisa was just HR.'  
'Yeah, I guess that's not as good an argument as it was in my head.'  
'Besides, Jones is the Welsh equivalent of Smith as far as surnames go and there's hardly any great family fortune for my sister's kids to fight over.'  
Jack continued tracing patterns in Ianto's palm as he dropped his eyes a moment before bringing them back up to meet Ianto's gaze. 'I don't pretend to know what tomorrow will bring us Yan. But right here, right now, this is all I need.'

Ianto smiled his enigmatic little smile before pulling them both to their feet. 'Come on then, lets get home before it rains.'  
'It's Cardiff.' Jack let Ianto drag him towards a taxi stand. 'It's always going to rain.'  
Ianto looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised as he hailed a cab. 'Doesn't mean I want to get caught in the storm.' He tugged Jack's hand as a taxi stopped for them. Giving the driver the address he settled into the back seat, still holding Jack's hand.

Jack viewed his home in a new light as he paid the driver and watched Ianto unlock the door. Purchased over eighty years ago, he'd periodically sold it to himself. He had considered just inheriting it until he'd found out about government death duties. It had never felt like a proper home until now. He let Ianto lead him inside and hang their coats up as they moved towards the sitting room.  
'You should probably find the candles while I light the fire in here, before the power goes out.'  
'You seem very certain of that.'  
Ianto shrugged. 'As you pointed out, this is Cardiff. And I don't know where you keep the candles.'  
'You know.' Jack called over his shoulder as he moved to a sideboard that if he remembered correctly, was a logical place to keep that sort of thing. 'If you wanted to be romantic you could have just said.'  
Ianto looked up from the fireplace. 'I'm being practical. We can be romantic later.'  
'Is that a promise Mr Jones?' Jack teased as he located a box of candles and some matches. 'Of course this would work better if I remembered where I saw the candle sticks.'  
'Formal dining room I think.' Ianto stepped back from the fire now dancing in the grate, dusting his hands off against the legs of his trousers.  
'Oh yeah.' Jack flashed him a grin as he set the candles and matches on an end table and decided to chance stealing a kiss. 'I'll go look.'  
Ianto nodded as he considered fetching a quilt from his room but wasn't sure if that would send the right message until the lights flickered, they stayed on but the heating clicked off. He called out. 'I'm just going up stairs to get some quilts.'  
Jack walked into the room with two ornate and solid silver candle sticks. 'My bedroom has a functioning fireplace in it. Maybe we should just brush our teeth and take our chances upstairs.'  
'I just lit the fire.'  
'Bank it up and with a bit of luck it will still be going in the morning, there's plenty of wood.'

Ianto frowned. 'You do know how a fire works don't you? It needs more time to build up to something that we can put a few larger logs onto. You can't just throw some wood on there now and hope it'll still be going in the morning.'  
'So you don't want to retire to my room then?'  
'Not right now, no. I'd like to sit on the settee and watch the fire for a bit. Your heatings already gone out so I think we need to get this fire going.'  
'Have you always been this practical?'  
'You learn if you want to survive.' Ianto responded, his eyes growing dark as he remembered learning how to do a great many grown up things in his childhood. 'But you're right about brushing our teeth, we should do that while we still have power and running water.'  
'You make it sound so third world.'  
'You've lived in the Hub too long with its back up generators.'  
Jack nodded. 'You're probably right. Come on then, lets brush our teeth. Unless you want to toast marshmallows in the fire?'  
Ianto chuckled at how hopeful Jack looked. 'I'm still good from dinner.'  
'Oh well. Come on, since you seem so convinced the power is going to go out.' He followed Ianto up the stairs and grinned at the view and the myriad ideas it prompted.  
Looking back over his shoulder Ianto stopped. 'Why are you smiling?'  
'Um, because I don't have to be stealthy about looking at your butt when you walk up stairs any more, if we're dating.'  
'You were never stealthy.'  
'Yes I was.'  
'Nope.'  
'Yeah ha.'  
Ianto shook his head, hands on hips. 'You practically called dibs.'  
'Did not.'  
'So ordering the others not to flirt with me? What was that then?'  
'Self preservation.' Jack replied. 'Anyway, I think I my toothbrush is in your bathroom.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes as he resumed moving up the stairs. 'I can hear your thoughts Jack and I have to say, I don't think anything like that will be happening any time soon.'

Jack considered what he'd been broadcasting and dampened his enthusiasm down. 'Sorry about that, and I'm not expecting anything more tonight except maybe a good night kiss of equally epic proportions. To make sure our earlier kiss wasn't just a one off, you know.'  
Stopping outside his bedroom door Ianto turned to Jack and gave him a lecherous smile of his own. 'I don't think you have to worry about that.' Grinning as the older man stood there, jaw dropped, frozen in place and unable to speak.  
Ianto changed into his pyjamas and began brushing his teeth when Jack finally joined him.  
'Are you alright with sleeping in my room tonight? With the fire in there it should be warmer if the power does go out.'  
Rinsing his mouth Ianto nodded. 'Of course, but where will you sleep?'  
Jack frowned until he saw a barely concealed smile and joined Ianto as he laughed. Silently loving the subtle change in Ianto that left him free enough to add his own voice into their teasing banter.  
'Oh I nearly had you there.'  
'For a moment you did. Come on, I should check I have enough pillows in my room, since everything seems to end up in yours.'

Ianto looked up from banking the fire in the sitting room, the lights flickered before finally going out. Lighting the candles Jack gave him a somewhat calculating look.  
'What?'  
'How did you really know the power was going to out or that there was a storm coming? Up until we got home it was just your standard run of the mill Welsh rain.'  
'Duno, gran and my mam always knew, so I never thought it was odd until I started school.' He settled on the settee with Jack. 'It never seemed that big a deal.'  
'You, Ianto Jones, are a remarkable man. How did you manage to stay under Hartman's radar working for One?'  
'Just lucky I guess.'  
Jack picked Ianto's hand up once more and shook his head. 'There has to be more to it than that. If she had half a clue you'd have been locked into her labs for testing faster than you can roll your eyes.'  
'I had any illusions as to the way the world would react to my ability to know stuff I shouldn't, well and truly knocked out of me by my dad. I learned how to hide it all away so when they tested me at One, I didn't score as well as I would now.'  
'And now?'  
'Now I'd like to know what you plan to do about Owen. He wasn't wrong, if Pip joins the team you will have another London freak on your hands.'  
'I'm still thinking about how to punish the good Doctor Harper. He'll be looking after Janet for a while. Including mucking out her cell.'  
'Not one of my more favourite jobs that.'  
'I don't think it's any ones to be honest. But what about you?'  
'I'm debating a lifetime of decaf. Since shooting him is out of the question.'  
'Probably best you don't, since we don't have a back up medic yet.'  
'Not even just a little wound, like in the shoulder?' Ianto found himself stifling a yawn. 'Sorry, it must be later than I thought.'  
'Yeah, come on, lets head up and get some sleep, you've sorted the fire down here anyway.' He patted Ianto on the knee before rising to his feet and holding a hand out to the Welshman. 'And I think someone owes me a good night kiss.'

Checking on the fire Ianto picked the second candlestick up as he followed Jack. 'You think so do you.'  
Jack nodded. 'I believe that was what we discussed.'  
'We just spent the last two hours talking, we discussed a lot of things.'  
'I never forget about kissing.'  
'Apparently not.' Ianto agreed as he set the candlestick down on the bedside table and moved to the fireplace. 'I'll get this going first.'  
Jack sat on the blanket box at the foot of his bed and watched as Ianto deftly got a fire going. Admiring the lines of the man's back as his shirt pulled tight against his body. 'I would sleep in your room if you didn't want to join me in here you know.' Admonishing himself to keep the blood from pooling in his groin.  
'I sleep better when I'm next to you.' Ianto simply stated as he rose to his feet.  
'I don't want to push you into anything you aren't ready for.'  
Ianto laughed. 'You climbed into my bed weeks ago because I needed someone there for me. It's a bit late to worry about what might happen next.'  
'Yeah, but this is different.'

Ianto considered all his previous doubts and realized they were so far away from the man looking uncertainly at him that he knew he had nothing to fear from Jack. Holding his hand out to the older man he pulled him to his feet and into a kiss that dwarfed their earlier attempt. Breaking apart when they were both seeing stars, which if Tosh were there she could have explained as a lack of oxygen to the brain inducing a something he didn't really care about. Not when he had Jack pressed up against him with a look in his eyes that Ianto suspected was reflected in his own.  
Unable to speak Jack simply projected his thoughts. Sending a mix of amazement and wonder and a heady dose of lust. Not the raw lust of a drunken one night stand but rather, a more comfortable lust that could grow into something much bigger than either of them could hope for. There was a gentle unspoken desire waiting for each man to realize that this was what they not only wanted, but perhaps needed as they turned to the bed and climbed in. Each man content to be held in the darkness, neither needing anything else in that moment to feel complete and at peace as sleep stole though them.


	10. Weevils

Ianto woke to find Jack watching him and rolled his eyes. 'You need a better hobby.'  
'I don't need to sleep as much as you do.'  
Sitting up Ianto shook his head. 'Doesn't mean you couldn't read a book or something.'  
Jack laughed. 'I could but I still can't see in the dark.'  
'Fair point, and hows my fire?'  
He shrugged. 'Power's back on so the heating works again.'  
Ianto looked at the flashing alarm and nodded. 'At least we'll be able to cook breakfast on the hob rather than in a fireplace.'  
'You can do that?'  
Ianto laughed. 'I'm sure I could figure it out Sir.'  
'You know, I'm sure you could.' He agreed. 'It's about six now.'  
'You thinking of going into the Hub?'  
'Storms like last night sometimes push the weevils out of their sewers.'  
'Do you need my help?'  
'You've got Pip to collect and you may have to keep him entertained in case I'm not back here by eleven.'  
'Am I still bringing him here for your interview?'  
'Yeap.'  
'What time will you head into the Hub?'  
'Soon as I can, if it's quiet I can come back but you never know with weevils.'  
'I'll make coffee and get a fry up on then.'  
Jack leaned over and kissed Ianto on the forehead. 'You really are my favourite.'  
'You're just saying that because of the coffee Sir.'  
'No.' Jack winked. 'The fry up also sounds good.'  
Ianto laughed as he threw the blankets back and looked for his slippers. 'I'll see you in the kitchen then.'

There was coffee waiting on the table and Ianto was about to set two plates of bacon and eggs down when Jack walked into the room.  
'Good morning gorgeous.'  
Ianto stopped. 'You aren't going to say things like that at work are you?'  
Jack paused, coffee halfway to his mouth. 'Not if you don't want me to. But I wont stop the flirting.'  
'They'd really think something was wrong if that was the case. Are you taking your car?'  
'She hasn't had a run for a while.' Smiling at the thought of driving his little red MG, a car he'd brought brand new in 1956.  
'Don't go though any puddles Sir, I'd hate to see her get drowned.'  
Jack looked up at Ianto and laughed. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

\----------

Ianto strode into the station with an optimistic prayer the train would be on time. He wouldn't like to say he was board spending the morning at home instead of working on the bottomless pit he fondly thought of as his archives. But there were other things he could have been doing that might have been a better use of his time than the hoovering. Wearing a simple black suit with a black shirt and red silk tie that cost more than his sister probably spent on groceries a month he felt ready. He wasn't entirely sure what he was ready for, if it was to simply collect someone from the station, or if it was to lay a few ghosts to rest. This would be the first time he'd seen anyone from London since the fall.  
It also left him wondering how he explained Jack to someone who's last memory of the Welshman was of drinks after work, Lisa at his side. How did he explain to himself, least of all any one else, that a scant five weeks ago he'd held the woman he loved in his arms as she begged him to let her go. And now, now he was actually in some sort of relationship with his immortal boss, who he slept next to every night. A man he was actually contemplating having a more physical relationship with. All while not even slightly freaked out by the idea.  
Hearing his name he was pulled from his thoughts as Pip pulled him into a friendly, we survived the end of the world and I'm glad to see you, hug.  
'Ianto Jones you look incredible. Cardiff suits you.'  
He felt himself blush as he nodded his agreement. 'Yes, I think it does.' Stepping back he looked around.  
Following his eyes Pip grinned, switching to German. 'We are being watched yes?'  
Ianto shrugged as he replied in kind. 'We probably are.'  
'By your Jack?'  
'And the girls if he's still at the Hub, perhaps we should wave?'

\----------

Suzie laughed as she watched Ianto and the slightly taller man at his side standing in the middle of the train station. They looked directly at a camera and waved. 'You know, I think they're on to us Tosh.'  
'You might be right.' Jack intoned as he stood behind his second in command. 'Any idea what they are saying?'  
Tosh shook her head. 'It's too crowded to pick anything usable up and I can't lip read like Ianto can.'  
Suzie frowned. 'Ianto can lip read?'  
Jack grinned. 'He does have very talented lips...' His voice trailing off as he recalled the goodbye kiss he'd been planted with before pulling out of the garage.  
Suzie shook her head at the pair of them. 'Right. So shouldn't you be heading home Jack? For your interview with Captain British Marines? You know, the big chap standing next to your Ianto. The one looking very comfortable with him.'  
Jack was prevented from answering when Tosh sprung into action.  
'Sorry Jack, we've got weevils in Bute Park, they just mauled someone.' Fingers flying as she switched from stalking Ianto and Pip to tracking the reported sighting of Cardiff's other main alien presence.  
Suzie began scanning the screens next to Tosh and sighed. 'There's at least half a dozen of them.' She spun the chair around and called out. 'Owen! Grab your kit.'  
Owen was already headed towards his team mates when he heard his name. 'Keep your hair on love, I heard you.'  
Jack groaned as he looked down at the already torn sleeve of his coat from their earlier brush with a pair of weevils. 'Great, I'll let Ianto know I'm going to be held up.'  
Owen snorted. 'Why doesn't he bring the big guy to the park and we can all see what he's made of.'  
'Literally.' Suzie pointed out. 'If he gets mauled.'  
'I've read his file, I'd be more worried about the bloody weevils.'  
'Fine. I'll take my car and meet you there. Tosh you stay here and monitor us, if we can't contain them you'll have to ring the Brigadier for reinforcements.' He patted her shoulder, knowing her history with UNIT it wasn't an easy request to make. 'Suzie, I'll meet you and Owen at the park.' He strode away and tapped his comms unit, hopping Ianto had his on.

Reaching the car Pip frowned as he watched Ianto's expression change when the younger man stopped short.  
Ianto pulled a comms unit out of his pocket and tucked it into his ear. 'Say that again Jack?' Unlocking the car he indicated Pip should get in before nodding and clicking the link closed. 'Change of plans I'm afraid. Are you up for a jog in the park?'  
Pip looked from his dress shoes to Ianto and grinned. 'I'll cope.'  
'You say that now.' Ianto muttered as he climbed behind the wheel of his audi and started the car. 'Wait until you've chased a weevil though the woods after the storm we had last night.'  
'Hang on.' Pip turned to Ianto as he fastened his seat belt. 'Did you say weevil?'  
'Yeap.' Ianto said, popping the P. 'Did you ever see any in London?'  
'No, the last of the London weevils was seen maybe a decade ago. There was one theory that they simply went deeper into the sewers under the city but no one's seen one for ages.'  
'We have a few more of them here in Cardiff. You'll spend most of your time collecting space junk and chasing weevils if you take the job.'

Jack had to steady himself as he watched Ianto striding towards him, his suit jacket flaring out around him revealing the red lining. The man walking with an equal confidence at his side was clearly Pip. Suzie moved to stand beside him and nodded.  
'Well he moves like he knows what he's doing so far.'  
Owen barked a laugh. 'He's walking, even I can do that.'  
'Yes but you don't look like that when you do it.'  
Jack sighed as he shook his head. 'Time out kids. Save it for later.'  
Ianto reached Jack and nodded. 'Captain Jack Harkness, this is Marshall Pippins. Suzie Costello and Doctor Owen Harper'  
'You dealt with a weevil before Pippins?'  
'No I have not.'  
'Right.' Jack nodded to Suzie who handed over a canister. 'Weevil spray, you have a gun?'  
'Didn't think I needed one for an interview Captain.'  
Owen scoffed again. 'Seriously? This is still Torchwood.'  
'Doctor Harper, have you tried to take a gun on a public train when your Torchwood identification got blown up by Darleks and Cybermen?'  
'Christ, I can't bloody win with you London lot.'  
Suzie handed Pip a gun and a spare clip. 'Don't mind him, he's got his knickers on backwards, and don't lose Doris, she's my favourite back up gun.'  
Checking the gun Pip grinned. 'I'll look after her.'

Jack turned to Ianto and stepped him aside, his voice quiet. 'Go back to the Hub and help Tosh I don't want you to get hurt.'  
'You can't treat me differently Jack.'  
'I'm not, you're my archivist and the only one who can use the bloody coffee machine.' He moved to bring his hand up to Ianto's cheek but remembered the others could still see them, his hand dropping at the last minute. 'You're too valuable to risk in the field and this is what the others are trained for.'  
'I'll be fine.'  
'Yan -.'  
He cut Jack off. 'Nope, and, I've probably had more comprehensive training than Owen.'  
'You're really going to have to explain exactly what they trained you lot in at One.'  
'Perhaps but not today.'

Jack nodded as he turned back to the others. He hated putting Ianto in any form of harms way but he also had a team to lead. He considered how to best split the team, did he send Pip with Owen and Suzie or keep the man with himself and Ianto. Making a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret he clapped his hands together. 'Okay kids, Suzie, you take Owen and head that way.' Pointing right. 'And I'll take these two with me.' He clicked his comms link. 'Toshiko, I need you to run interference with the constabulary, for some reason they like you more than me.' He laughed at her reply and nodded. 'Point taken, get them to keep folks away, and to stay clear themselves. I don't need another bloody rookie stumbling into a weevil nest.' He turned back to Suzie and frowned. 'Why are you still here?'  
'Ah, Jack, a word?'  
'No Suzie, you and the good doctor need to go to the right.' He waved them off before turning to Ianto and Pip.  
'Not exactly the interview I had planned but that's Torchwood for you.' He turned to Ianto one last time, operating on hope more than any expectation his words might make the young man change his mind. 'No one will think less of you for sitting this out, and Owen definitely wont say anything.'  
Ianto squared his shoulders back as he held Jack's gaze with a determination of his own. 'You should be more worried about what I'll be saying about your coat.'  
'Oh yeah.' Jack grinned as his eyes automatically fell on the torn and bloodstained sleeve. 'You can fix that though can't you?'  
'Of course I can fix it.' Ianto rolled his eyes.  
Pip stifled a chuckle but still found two pairs of blue eyes staring at him. 'What?'  
'Right.' Jack snapped into action mode and addressed Pip. 'I don't have a comms unit for you so stay close and watch out for the teeth.' He cricked his neck reflecting on his morning just long enough to catch Ianto's attention. 'It's nothing Yan, I've had worse shaving.' He turned to Pip and fixed him with an icy cold stare. 'But if Ianto gets so much as a scratch the weevils will be the least of your problems.'

His expression a professional mask Pip nodded. 'It's not my first rodeo Captain.' If Ianto hadn't mentioned the growing relationship between himself and Jack he'd have been left in little doubt after the look the Captain was now giving him. Woe betide any who chose to come between them was the thought that crossed his mind.  
Jack nodded, his smile still cold. 'Lets do this.'  
The highlights for Ianto, he was later to recall, were simple. He was still alive and they returned a total of four weevils to the sewers, Owen determined they were all juveniles as he tagged them and gathered samples for his growing database. Packing his kit up they were about to head back to the vehicles when they heard a scream.  
Jack looked to Pip and Suzie and nodded as they all began running towards the trees.  
Owen looked at Ianto. 'I hope you've got your running shoes on teaboy.'  
'I can keep up.' He replied before following after Jack.

Ianto found Suzie dragging a young woman out of the way as two much larger weevils began moving towards Jack and Pip. Sparing a thought followed by a hasty prayer that the young woman had simply fainted he grabbed the first thing to hand. Swinging the branch like a club he hit the weevil currently attacking Pip, stunning it enough for the former Torchwood One agent to get the drop on it. Before turning to the second weevil currently working on tearing Jack's throat out. With a strength Ianto hadn't expected he clubbed the weevil over the head and shoved it aside as he dropped to the muddy ground and pulled Jack towards him. Weevils ignored he let Suzie and Pip deal with them as he covered Jack's wound so the others wouldn't see how bad it was. Or that the captain had stopped breathing.  
In the back of his mind were the twin thoughts of his not being able to salvage the coat and wondering if his suit would be alright with a dry clean or if it too was beyond salvaging. He felt the skin knitting together beneath his hands and nearly sobbed with relief as Jack took a shuddering breath and gasped back to life. He registered two guns being fired in the background and Owen calling his name as a medical kit was dropped to the damp ground he was kneeling on.  
'Come on teaboy, I need to check Jack.'  
He reluctantly moved aside so Owen could see for himself that Jack was okay. A mute nod the only acknowledgement he could give. He heard Suzie talking with Tosh over the open comms channel. Turning he saw two weevils lying in pools of their own blood as Pip held a dressing to Suzie's arm. It felt like the last few minutes had passed in a blur yet all the while time had stood still in the same space. Next time, he resolved, that Jack gave him permission to go back to the Hub, he would.

Unbeknownst to Ianto there were four people watching him square himself up tugging his suit jacket into place and straightening his tie. Each quietly impressed with the man's calm, stoic presence. Jack shrugged Owen and his fussing off with a muttered comment about having a fast metabolism so of course he was healing quickly as he moved towards Ianto. Ignoring the others he pulled him into his arms, pressing their foreheads together in silent conversation.

Pip turned to Suzie who was now being examined by Owen. 'Do they do that often?'  
Owen's expression darkened slightly as he gave the men in question a cursory glance. 'They do and it's creepy.'  
'Oh don't start now Owen.' Suzie glared. 'There's nothing wrong with them.'  
'You can't tell me you don't find their silent conversations creepy.'  
'I can tell you I don't particularly care nor do I understand why you do. Are you jealous Owen?'  
'I don't shag men and I don't need to be best friends with Jack so why would I be jealous.'  
She shook her head. 'You tell me but I'm not dealing with whatever it is that creeps you out about all this so perhaps you could pull your head out of your arse and get over it.'  
'I don't like psychics alright.' Pulling his gloves off he began packing his kit up and stalked towards the SUV. 'I'll get a tarp for these two.'  
Pip turned to Suzie who shrugged.  
'He's a complex mystery at the best of times and a wanker all the time.'  
'But I'm not psychic and I don't own a crystal ball.'  
'Of all the mysteries of the world, solving this one isn't on my bucket list. I'd also recommend heading back to the house with Ianto and not Jack.'  
Pip looked at the MG and grinned. 'Bet she goes like a rocket.'  
'Funny.' Ianto said as he joined the conversation. 'Since Jack drives it like one.'  
'I told you, I'm a very good driver.'  
Ianto turned to Jack who had also moved over to join the others. 'Of course, Sir.'  
Jack looked at Ianto a moment longer before turning to Pip. 'Not sure I need to interview you now, the jobs yours if you want it.'  
Pip felt all eyes on him, even the acerbic doctor as he nodded. 'I'll have to sort a few things out in London but I'd be happy to join the team.'  
'Right.' Jack grinned as he rubbed his hands together. 'That's that sorted then. What train are you catching back?'  
'Oh no you don't, I was promised coffee and I'm not getting on any train until I get some.'  
Owen pulled his wallet out and flipped it open. 'If I give you a fiver to buy one at the station would that help?'  
Jack stared at his medic and shook his head. 'I'll deal with you tomorrow.'  
'Goodie.' Owen muttered as he tucked his wallet away and turned back to the weevils. 'A little help please?'  
Suzie sighed. 'Nice meeting you Pip, looking forward to working with you and all that crap, but if I don't help Doctor Harper none of us will hear the end of it.'  
'Oi.'  
'Oh oi yourself.' She nodded at Jack and moved to help with the dead weevils.  
'What about the jogger?' Ianto asked.  
'Owen and Suzie will give her a low dose of retcon, emergency services are on the way. I guess we should get back to the house if Pip wants a coffee.' Jack clicked his comms unit. 'Toshiko, perhaps you could explain why a jogger got though what's supposed to be a police cordon?'

In the Hub Tosh sighed as she typed madly. 'That would something I'm looking into but from the police chatter I'm getting the PC who was supposed to be guarding the west gate left her post.'  
'Not helpful. Suzie and Owen will sort the woman out and be heading back with two dead weevils.'  
'I'll have the gurney in the garage for when they get back.'  
'Thanks Tosh, I'll see you tomorrow.'

Back at the house Ianto looked critically at Jack's coat as he began trying to sponge the worst of the mud and blood off the grey wool. It crossed is mind that might just be easier to run a google search and see if he couldn't just track down a new coat. He could get a number made so he'd be able to just replace it next time Jack got killed by a weevil. His hand shook at the memory and he wasn't sure he'd ever wash the metaphorical blood from his skin. He looked from the torn and bloody coat to his own suit jacket and wondered if he could clean that one up enough to be able to send it to the dry cleaners. Jack's assurances that they'd seen worse didn't help, not this time. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
'It's just a coat Yan.'  
Turning he let the older man wrap him in his arms, words muffled against Jack's shoulder. 'Is it?'  
'Yeah, it is. Come on, you need a brandy.'  
'I need to drive Pip to the station.'  
'We can call him a cab, come on.' He tugged Ianto's hand until they were standing in the kitchen and he could hand the man a drink.  
'For shock and for surviving your first field trip.'  
'I think I miss my archives. They're safer.'

Pip topped his glass up and shook his head. 'They aren't always, remember the three weeks Regie spent as a woman?'  
Ianto laughed. 'He refused to come out of that office for two days.'  
'How did you guys get him out in the finish?'  
'It was pointed out to him that the alternative was for Hartman to find out and he'd be lucky if he only ended up as one of her science projects.'  
Pip stopped laughing. 'Yeah, that's not as funny.'  
Ianto sipped his brandy and privately agreed.

Sitting in his kitchen Jack hated that Ianto was right, he did like Marshall 'Pip' Pippins, he was an unassuming man with minimal presence, which wasn't an easy thing to achieve for someone a little over six feet tall. His dark hair sprinkled with grey and his green eyes were clear and friendly. The suit he wore, like Ianto's, looked well tailored and moved with the man rather than moving the man in it. And watching him move Jack had easily recognized the predatory qualities that suggested he was highly dangerous. The sort of man who usually carried not only a back up gun but probably a back up knife as well, when he was armed of course. Pip also looked like he could run up mountains. Lean, athletic and while not classically handsome he had a warm smile and appealing features.

And after talking with him for close to two hours, he found it impossible to hate him. He was a man who had never had his own team because he was quick to argue with his superiors over their treatment of and attitude towards all things alien. He eschewed the Torchwood One line of, "if it's alien it's ours", preferring to work with and learn from aliens instead. Shooting a weevil today was a sad necessity not a pleasure and he was everything Jack wanted in a field agent. He'd obey orders but he would freely argue his point, something he'd probably do eloquently, while dressed in his three piece suit. And, he could even build a bomb out of the contents of the average kitchen pantry, something he actually bragged about doing blindfolded. He was skirting the safe edge of lethal and Jack found it impossible to dislike him. It was Ianto he worried about, leaving him to speak with his London friend while he tried to salvage his shoes.

Ianto and Pip sat at the kitchen table and talked about everything that had happened in the last five weeks. They even shed a discrete tear as they remembered lost friends but parted smiling. With Pip extracting a promise that Ianto would help him find a flat when he moved to Cardiff. And a suggestion that perhaps they could scoop up a few of the other survivors of Canary Wharf.

Ianto felt conflicted as he watched the taxi arrive to take Pip back to the station. It had been reassuring to see someone who survived what he still thought of as the worst day of his life. Holding Lisa as she died eclipsed even the death of his mother but every day hurt a little less. Every day he was able to smile a little more and imagine a future for himself. Albeit a very different future to the one he had once planned. It was as if a cloud had lifted and allowed a single ray of light into the darkness that had threatened to engulf him. Guilt chased that ray of sunshine but the sun was brighter for it. He just wasn't ready to explore what it meant, and he certainly had no desire to even admit why he felt less alone in the world.

That night Ianto cried out in his sleep but didn't wake from restless dreams as Jack held him in the darkness. Leaving the older man hoping bringing a survivor from London into his Hub wasn't going to undo the progress his Welshman had made. He didn't want Ianto wondering why Pip had survived and Lisa hadn't. And he didn't want to return to the blood chilling screams that had followed the first nights after that black day. So he did what he'd spent the last five weeks doing, he held Ianto as they both chased dreams.


	11. Gloves

Owen knew three things as he walked into the Hub. He was late, which in of itself wasn't unusual. He also didn't know why the weevils yesterday had attacked the way they did and he had no explanation he was willing to give Jack regarding his reaction to Marshal Pippins. If there were no end of the world emergencies he would be asked. Probably shouted at and if he was lucky he might even get decaf from Ianto. Then there was the likely extension of the cold shoulder from Suzie that had made the previous afternoon unpleasant. And disappointment from Tosh, which, ironically, bothered him the most.  
Looking around he found Tosh at her work station but no other sings of activity. She looked up at him, a flash of sadness masked by a smile as she greeted him.  
'Where's everyone else?'  
'Suzie's on a retrieval in the Bay, Ianto's in the archives and Jack said something about yelling at the police.'  
'Christ, no wonder they don't bloody like him. So, ah, no chance of a coffee then?'

Tosh snorted with laughter and handed him a five pound note with a post it stuck to it.  
He shrugged as he shoved it in his pocket. 'Anything more from the weevils in the park?'  
'Nothing new, there haven't been any more sightings or attacks so with a bit of luck they'll stay put.'  
'When do we get lucky, this is bloody Torchwood Tosh.' Owen snorted logging into his computer he started opening his weevil files. 'I didn't find anything abnormal in the pathology to explain the spike in aggression and it's not a seasonal thing. Hang on.' He clicked on the email logo flashing at the bottom of his screen. 'What's this?'  
Tosh didn't look up as she continued typing. 'Ianto found some digital records on weevils, he said if he finds anything else he'll pull it out of the archives for you.'  
Nodding Owen opened the first link. 'Is there anything on the server?'  
'I'm running a search now and I'm checking the police records for anything that may have been reported as an animal attack.'  
'Thanks Tosh.' Owen said, settling into the silence of the Hub.

\----------

Jack strode out of the Cardiff police station, his classically handsome features set as if carved in stone. The jogger who had managed to get though the police cordon had been more severally injured than first expected, her recovery from the weevil attack was not guaranteed. His ire firmly impressed on the police he now felt free to face the day and considered suggesting a trip to the cinema to Ianto.  
Cardiff Superintendent Meredith Evens was livid as he threw his office door open and moved to the centre of the station. 'Someone get Cooper in here. Now!'  
Gwen frowned as she heard her name bellowed across the room, her attention caught by a man in his long grey coat as he sailed past her shared desk before looking around.  
PC Andy Davidson looked up at his patrol partner and wondered what she'd done this time. Not for the first time it occurred to him just how far away from a promotion he was going to stay while saddled with PC Cooper. 'You've bloody done it now, best you get in there.'  
Setting her cup of tea down she frowned at his tone. 'I haven't done anything.'  
Andy watched as she tugged at her shirt to show more cleavage. Muttering to himself he went back to filling out the inevitable paperwork that went with being a police constable. 'Doesn't sound like nothing to me.'  
Everyone looked up as the door to the Superintendents office was firmly closed. Words like gross misconduct and negligence and bloody Torchwood echoed around the station floor. The walls of his office proving insufficient to keep them in.  
'And Cooper.' Superintendent Evens said as he opened his office door. 'You will be on desk duty until further notice.' Slamming his door after she scurried out he returned to his desk while muttering about bloody Torchwood. Not for the first time he wished he'd taken the job on Barry Island. What did his loyalty earn him if he was going to be stuck with self important idiots throwing their egos around his station and city.

\----------

Jack stood on the invisible lift, activating it via his wrist strap, smiling as he descended into his Hub and three heads looked around. 'Did you miss me kids?'  
Ianto walked out of Jack's office. 'No but Colonel Mace did.'  
His face fell. 'That was today?'  
'Yeap. But you can call him back at three.'  
Holding a bag up Jack tried grinning again. 'I got lunch.'  
Ianto nodded, his reply cut off in knowing they weren't alone as he moved to join the others.  
Suzie put the metal glove down she'd been examining. 'What did you get?  
'Subway. That what they fished out of the Bay?'  
'Yes, Ianto asked if they found the other one.'  
'There's two?'  
Ianto moved to stand beside Jack. 'Of course Sir, gloves do traditionally come in pairs, Sir.'  
'Well I know that.' He started heading to the board room. 'But what does it do?' He asked his second. Eyes lighting up with anticipation.  
She shrugged as she followed him. 'No idea. We scanned it and swabbed it and all we know is the metal is an unknown alloy and it has a slight energy signature that is also unknown.'  
'So no instruction manual then?'  
'No, it's probably just one more piece of universal crap tossed at us by the rift when the other one got lost behind someone's jousting kit.'  
'Unless this is the one that got lost and it's pair will shortly follow.'  
Suzie shook her head. 'I much preferred it when you weren't as optimistic.'  
Jack laughed as he handed the wrapped subs around the table before taking his own seat. 'I've always been optimistic Suzie.'  
'Not like this.' She muttered into her meatball sub.  
Hearing her Owen privately agreed, choosing to say nothing least Jack remember yesterdays promise to deal with him. He wasn't ready to articulate the animosity he felt towards Marshall Pippins and Torchwood One. Nor did he want to set Ianto off.

Jack watched Ianto, napkin tucked into his collar as he ate his lunch. One day he wanted to see Ianto come undone. He wanted a smudge of chocolate on his chin or to see mango juice dripping onto his naked torso. A groan stifled, his eyes caught those of his beloved Welshman and they exchanged a smile. Deep breaths and control pulled back allowed him to eat his lunch with a hopeful thought thrown at Ianto that the man might not scurry back to the archives. The barely there smile in response and an almost imperceptible nod his only answer.  
Alone with Ianto in the board room Jack sat on the edge of the table. 'So, I was thinking we should go to the pictures, after work.'  
'What did you want to see?'  
'Wasn't planning on actually watching the movie.'  
'What were you.' Ianto stopped talking.  
Jack grinned. 'Making out in the back row actually.'  
'Bit of a cliche Sir.' Dropping his voice he moved closer to Jack.  
'I prefer to think of it as a classic.'  
'Like you Sir.' Closer still he watched the older man's eyes dance with hope and laughter.  
'I think so.'  
'So. What film should we not, watch, Sir.' Closing the gap between them.  
'I'll ah, check what's playing. Did you look in the archives for anything on Suzie's glove?'  
'Nothing yet Sir. Of course, most of the archives aren't digital.'  
'Is that your way of asking for a raise?'  
Ianto raised an eyebrow, his smile a playful smirk, one he knew did things to Jack. 'I'm assuming sleeping with the boss isn't a team-wide perk.'  
Jack felt his cock twitch as he grinned. 'No. It is not.'  
'Good. While I may not know what this is, Jack.' Using the man's name deliberately. 'I will not be played with.'  
Jack swallowed as Ianto moved his hand to rest on his thigh. 'Not something you need worry about Yan.'  
Bringing his other hand up to the back of Jack's head Ianto licked his lips before dipping in for a kiss. His voice a husky whisper. 'I hope not.'  
They broke apart at a cough and Suzie's voice filtered into the room.  
'Put the archivist down Jack, we've got a weevil in the industrial area.'  
Jack wiped the pad of his thumb over Ianto's bottom lip. 'We'll ah, continue this later.'  
'Of course Sir.' His smile a brief flash of gratitude as he felt his body return to his more usual state of control. 'Ah, Colonel Mace, Sir?'  
'I'll call him later too.'  
'Very good Sir.' Ianto moved away and watched Jack rise to his feet. 'Shall I help Tosh with the comms Sir?'  
'If you would. Has Owen found anything yet to explain the increase in weevil activity?'  
'No.' Dropping the playful tone he shook his head falling instep with Jack as they moved into the centre of the Hub. 'I gave him everything I could find but nothing explains it.'  
Jack looked around for his medic. 'Owen!'  
'Jack?'  
'Was there anything, in the autopsies to shed any illumination on the weevil's behaviour?'  
'Not a sodding thing.' He shook his head. ‘I mean there might be but we don’t know enough about them to say either way.’  
'Hmm.' Jack frowned. 'Come on then, lets round our latest one up.'  
'If you hurry Sir.' Ianto said, his expression neutral. 'You can be back in time to call the Colonel.'  
'Lets not get too carried away Yan.'  
Two hours and one dead weevil later and to his disappointment Jack found he was back in time to call Colonel Mace of UNIT. Earning him an eye rolling from Ianto. And a frown at his discovery of yet another stain on the coat before moving to make coffee for the team.  
Owen picked up his cup and sniffed cautiously.  
'What's wrong Owen?' Tosh asked sweetly. 'You don't think he did anything to your coffee do you?'  
Taking a sip he gave her a sheepish grin. 'He'd be within his rights if he did I guess.'  
'You guess?' She sighed as she sipped her own cup of caffeinated heaven.  
'Yes and no I'm not going to explain it, I've got another dead weevil to dissect and not a single bloody idea why.'  
'I thought they were nocturnal.'  
'So did I mostly, it just doesn't make sense and I hate having to chop them up like this.' He finished his coffee and headed to the autopsy bay. Shoulders slumped as he tried to work out the answer to one of the questions everyone was asking.  
Tosh took their now empty cups to the kitchen, wondering if she hadn't just seen a chink in Owen's armour. As she also wondered if they would ever find out why the weevils were so much more aggressive than before.

\----------

Jack checked the time and was about to send everyone home when Ianto walked into his office. 'Good timing Ianto.'  
'Is it Sir, Owen would like you to join him at his work station.'  
'He better not be trying to download another computer game from China, he crashed Tosh's server last time and it wasn't pretty.'  
'I believe it is related to the latest weevil Sir.'  
Owen nodded at Tosh as Jack and Ianto joined them. 'If you could hit the lights please.'  
'It's a bit late for a surprise party Owen. I think he's already dead.'  
'I'm glad that stand up comedy routine of yours is coming along Jack. But I noticed something when I hit the weevil with a UV light.'  
'That it didn't explode.'  
'Thank you Ianto.' Owen turned a UV torch on, moving the light over the weevil's body.  
'That looks like bruising.' Jack's eyes followed the path of the light. 'What can do that sort of damage to a weevil?'  
'Hell if I know Jack, but it's not good.'  
Tosh turned the lights back on and began pulling up Owen's autopsy findings.  
'Last time I used to see something like this.' Owen spoke softly. 'Was in the emergency room on Sunday mornings. If this wasn't a weevil, I'd say someone was getting smacked around at home.'  
Jack felt Ianto's hand snake into his and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.  
'I've gone over the data Ianto found me and had Tosh search the London servers and all I can think of is we don't have a sodding clue as to what's done this.'

Suzie looked at Owen. 'Could we have a rogue alpha weevil that's gone mad?'  
'Duno. And Janet's not talking.' He sighed. 'I'm afraid it's going to keep happening Jack.'  
Jack nodded as he considered his options. 'We'll have to give the police and UNIT some sort of brief, we need to keep this from escalating and we have no idea what's causing it.' He turned to Ianto. 'How are you at writing briefs?'  
'Not my area of expertise Sir but I can pull something together if it means you don't have to speak to the Superintendent again.'  
'I didn't give him a total bollocking Yan.'  
Owen snorted. 'You didn't turn up with donuts either.'  
Jack have an unapologetic shrug. 'Not really a fan. Anyway, not much else we can do just keep your communication lines open.' He gave Owen a pointed look. 'Maybe lay off the sauce for a bit and go home. But I want everyone in tomorrow at nine for a few hours.'  
Ignoring the collective groans Jack returned to his office, waiting for Suzie, Owen and Tosh to pack up for the day. Only looking up from his paperwork when Ianto walked in and leaned against the desk. 'So I've had a look at what's playing there's Hairspray, one of the Die Hard films or something else.'  
'Not the musical I think, even I'm not ready to be that stereotype.'  
Jack grinned as he reached for Ianto's hand. 'Not ever or just not yet?'  
'I will not be some caricature of myself just because I happen to be exploring a relationship with another man.'  
'I'm hardly that myself.' Jack cautioned playfully. 'But I'm glad you're open to exploring us and I hope you'll tell me if you've ever uncomfortable with anything.'  
Ianto sighed. 'Sometimes I wonder if I haven't fallen into this too soon after Lisa but then I remember what you said. That I should hold on to the memories and the love.' He brushed his thumb over Jack's wrist. 'Thank you for not retconning me.'  
'I'm willing to admit that my motives at the time weren't entirely selfless.' Jack acknowledged. Watching Ianto's eyes for a reaction, surprised when the young man laughed.  
'I did wonder. Come on, are you taking me out to dinner before the film or after?'  
'Oh.' Jack rose to his feet and pulled Ianto up with him. 'Now you want dinner and a film.'  
'Absolutely. I demand to be wooed.'  
'Come on then, lets check the session times and decide from there.'  
Walking out of the Hub Jack turned to Ianto, halting their progress. 'I never did ask Owen what got his knickers in a knot yesterday.'  
'He was rather rude, more than usual I mean.'  
'Is that going to be a problem?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'Pip's a big boy, he can take care of himself. And I have decaf.'  
Jack considered his archivist in that moment, standing in the shadows cast by a near by street lamp. 'I guess it's like any group of people who have worked together for a while, you bring someone new in and it changes the dynamic.' He shrugged. 'The kids will bicker a bit until they work out where they fit we just have to weather the storm.'  
'You've seen this a few times haven't you.'  
'Some days I feel every one of the years I've been alive, but with it comes a lot of experience in dealing with adults squabbling like children.'  
Laughing Ianto reached for Jack's hand. 'Come on, we've got a movie to catch.'  
They checked the session times and Ianto gave Jack a hopeful look. 'We should be in time to watch Die Hard.'  
Watching the smile spread though the Welshman's entire body Jack nodded. 'Come on then or we'll miss the opening credits.'  
'I'll get the popcorn.'  
Jack laughed as Ianto made a bee line for the confectionery counter while he paid for the tickets. Turning he bumped into a couple standing behind him. 'Sorry.' Instantly forgetting the big green eyes of the woman and the friendly smile of the man she was with, he moved towards Ianto who was grinning as they headed for their seats.  
'I only got the medium sized popcorn so you don't ruin your appetite for dinner.'  
'Oh yes? And where am I taking you for this dinner you demanded?'

Ianto shrugged. 'Maybe we can just pick a kebab up on the way home.'  
The voices faded away as Rhys Williams turned to his girlfriend. 'Maybe we should pick a kebab up on the way home too.'  
'What?' Gwen hadn't paid attention as she tried to remember where she'd seen the American accented man before. 'Sorry? Didn't catch that.'  
'After the picture, we should pick up kebabs on the way home.'  
'Oh, sounds like a good idea.' She flashed him a smile. 'Come on then, Hairspray waits for no man.'  
Walking out of the movie Jack couldn't help but smile at Ianto, making him self conscious.  
'What?'  
'I didn't say thank you for not making me watch the rom-com musical.'  
'Yes you did, when you snogged me during the opening credits, and the ending ones.'  
'Oh yes.' He laughed as they walked, shoulders brushing. 'You still feel like that kebab?'  
Ianto was about to respond when his phone rang. Extracting the phone from his pocket he frowned at the caller ID. 'Pip?'  
Jack let Ianto pull away slightly, only picking up some of the conversation as he moved to order kebabs.  
Tucking the phone in his pocket Ianto accepted the kebab Jack handed him. 'Pip's hit a slight snag in relocating to Cardiff.'  
'He's still coming right?'  
Ianto nodded. 'Yeap. But he'll have his daughter with him.'  
'She's nearly at Uni isn't she?'  
'Next year, he didn't give me too many details but he needs me to find him a flat or something they can move into so he can sort out transferring her to a school here.'  
'If it's quiet we can start looking tomorrow, I know someone who can probably help.'  
'You don't happen to own any more houses?'  
Jack shook his head. 'Just the one house and an old book shop.'  
'A book shop?'  
He sighed. 'Story for another time Yan. Come on, lets get home before we regret the kebabs.'  
'Home or should we just stay at the Hub? Since the others are heading in for nine?'  
'Good point, Hub it is.'

\----------

Ianto woke to the smell of bacon and eggs and a kiss. As nice as the cooked breakfast was he found himself fast becoming addicted to Jack's lips. There was still a hint of the older man's hesitation which he found endearing. It had only been a matter of days since their first official date and he was still getting his head around the practicalities of being more intimate with another man. He dressed quickly, his wardrobe now shared between the Hub and home, as he headed to the kitchen to make coffee. Which earned him another kiss from Jack who had the morning paper on the table.  
'I popped out for a loaf of bread and more milk and picked the paper up for you.'  
'Thank you Jack.'  
'Ah, but thank you for wearing your black jeans...' Jack all but purred as he leered at Ianto in his casual attire of jeans and a long sleeved shirt.  
'Really?' Ianto teased as he sipped his coffee.  
Jack nodded. 'Really.' He checked his watch. 'We've got about half an hour before the others trickle in.'  
'I didn't mean to sleep so late.'  
'I'm just glad you're sleeping better.' Reaching across the table to run his thumb over Ianto's wrist. 'I don't miss the nightmares.'  
'Me either.' Ianto smiled.  
They ate in silence and Jack sorted the dishes so Ianto could start looking at the property pages. Lost in his search he didn't hear Suzie approaching him until she stood at his side.  
'Looking for your own place?'  
Ianto shook his head. 'Pip asked me to start the search for him.'  
She nodded as she considered his words. 'You're a good friend Ianto. I'm glad you aren't leaving Jack just yet, I think he needs you as much as you need him.'

She turned and walked away before he could say anything, leaving him staring after her, a thoughtful expression on his face.  
Tosh watched Suzie walking away from Ianto, only turning when she sensed Jack standing beside her.  
'It's nice to see her playing well with others, don't you think.' He grinned, hands shoved in pockets as Tosh nodded.  
'She scares me sometimes, at how focused she gets on things, you know.'  
Jack moved to lean against the railing, looking down at Suzie who was heading towards her work bench. 'She does rather, doesn't she. But she's good at what she does and she enjoys it, in a non creepy way.' He shrugged. 'At least I don't have to worry about her trying to kill me in my sleep, unlike some I've worked with.' His mind flashing to his past in the Time Agency. 'I've had some interesting partners.'  
Tosh frowned. 'Partners that tried to kill you in your sleep.'  
He laughed. 'Maybe not, but I trust her, her heart is in the right place and she doesn't strike me as cynically insane.'  
'Don't you mean clinically?'  
'That too.' He winked before walking away, hands in pockets and whistling.  
Tosh stared after him wondering if any of them were still sane any more. She moved towards her computer and gave a quick prayer for a quiet day.  
Owen walked into the Hub only a little after nine, he barely managed to log in when the alarms went off. 'Christ what is wrong with the world.' He muttered as he moved to Tosh's work station. 'Let me guess Toshiko, light of my life, it's another bloody weevil attack.'  
'That or a wolf.'  
'I'll grab my gear then.'

Jack moved to check the screens with Suzie. 'Looks like a little one.' He turned to find Ianto. 'You go ahead and I'll meet you when you've done with the house hunting.'  
Owen frowned. 'House hunting? I thought you two were officially living together now if the work place snogging was anything to go by.'  
'It' not for Ianto.' Suzie said before moving towards her collection of weapons. 'Well come on Owen.'  
'Christ, who died and put you in charge.'  
'That would be me, the putting in charge bit.' Jack interjected. 'But she's right, we should get going. Come along Owen, we mustn't keep the weevil waiting.'  
'Jack.' Ianto called out just as the older man was about to disappear with a flourish of his coat. 'No more stains or rips this time, yeah.' He heard Jack's laughter as he headed to the SUV with the words falling back to him.  
'What? He really loves the coat.'  
Owen's muttered reply lost in the vastness of the Hub as Ianto turned to Tosh and shrugged before picking his paper up.  
'He's right, I do love that coat.'  
Tosh just rolled her eyes as she began tracking the SUV. Some comments were best left unsaid, even if she wanted to know more about the snogging.


	12. Welcome to Cardiff

Ianto threw the real estate listings on the coffee table and groaned. 'If I see another bloody guide listing that does not match the physical property, I'll climb on that damn roof with you and bloody jump.'  
Jack pulled Ianto around and began massaging his shoulders. 'So tense Yan, you not have fun with the estate agent then?'  
'No and if you got any more stains on that coat of yours you can clean it yourself.'  
'This time it really was just a dog attack.'  
'Bonus.' Ianto muttered as he relaxed into Jack's hands. 'So you abandoned me to the clutches of that skeevy estate agent for nothing. Just as well you're good at this.'  
Jack brushed a kiss on Ianto's neck. 'Now imagine what I can do if you take your shirt off.' He was met with a soft moan from a pliable Ianto.  
'Yeah? Go on then.'  
Jack reached around and wrapped Ianto in his arms. 'You say the sweetest things Yan.'  
'Ah ha, and why did the massaging and kissing stop?' He turned his head, wanting Jack to see he wasn't joking.  
'I think I've got massage oil in my room.'  
Ianto smiled as he unfolded himself from Jack and rose to his feet, pulling Jack with him. 'Come on then, show me what you can do when you have a Welshman with no shirt on, in your room.' Winking he looked over his shoulder to see if Jack was following him. 'Unless you were all talk?'  
Grinning Jack moved to chase him, laughing as they ran up the stairs.

Stopping to grab a towel out of the hall closet Jack lay it on the bed before looking for the massage oil. Turning he caught Ianto as the younger man pulled his shirt off and undid the buttons of his jeans. It was little wonder, dressed like that, he'd been hit on by the estate agent. Ianto left his jeans loose on his hips he stood with his back to Jack. For all their nights sleeping in the same bed Ianto rarely showed this much of himself. He had to catch is breath moment as he saw how much Ianto had regained his former physique after Canary Wharf. His back still a crossroad of faint lines but he was more defined and Jack had to think of weevils to stop himself passing out from a lack of blood flow to his head. 'I ah, you need to tell me, when to stop, I don't want to take this too far.'  
Ianto shrugged as he lay face down on the bed. 'I trust you Jack.'  
Taking another deep breath Jack warmed the oil in his hands before applying it to Ianto's skin, fingers moving to unwind the knots in the younger man's body. All logic abandoning him as Ianto moaned.  
'God Jack, there.' Ianto wasn't able to stop himself as Jack worked between his shoulder blades. 'That's amazing.'  
The guttural quality of Ianto's voice was nearly Jack's undoing as he had to add in thoughts of some of the more unsavoury things he'd done for Torchwood to stop his cock growing any harder. If Ianto asked it of him in that single moment he'd catch a falling star or set fire to the rain. If Ianto asked it of him, it wouldn't matter how impossible it was. It had been a long time since he'd let himself get this close to falling in love and it was a realization he hadn't anticipated.  
Ianto turned his head as he felt Jack's movements slow down. 'You okay?'

Considering how to respond he went with as much of the truth as he dared. 'I'm just trying to catch my breath here Yan.' He felt eyes moving over his body as Ianto looked him up and down. 'And if you keep looking at me like that I'll need more than a cold shower.'  
'You keep touching me like that and I may need to join you.'  
'Would defeat the purpose of the cold shower.'  
He shrugged as best he could lying on his stomach. 'Maybe I'd be okay with that.' Rolling over so Jack could see his own hardening cock. 'Maybe I'm ready to try something new.' He reached for Jack's face and pulled him in, finding his lips he whispered against them. 'Maybe I want more than just a kiss this time.'

Jack opened his mouth to groan and found himself kissing Ianto as his body was pulled onto the younger man lying half naked beneath him. Any fear he was taking advantage shot out of his mind along with thoughts of love and forever.  
Fingertips moved over Ianto's chest as Jack responded to the demands of the mouth working his without any hints of fear or hesitation. Risking a peak at the younger man's thoughts he found them filled with unguarded lust and a desire to increase the closeness between them. He opened himself up to the idea of stroking Ianto's cock, and felt the younger man grow even harder in anticipation. Following his thoughts with action he luxuriated in the wreaked sounds filling the room, of harsh breaths mingling as he stroked Ianto to completion. Until he held the now boneless younger man against him as they lay wrapped in each others arms.

Ianto felt heavy and warm and wondered why he'd never experienced anything quite like this before. He'd had a good sex life with Lisa but this was in a whole different category. Was it because Jack had a well deserved reputation, or was it their subtle connection. Wanking him to the edge of sleep he didn't have the need to question it further as Jack brushed a gentle kiss over his lips.  
'You alright there Yan?'  
'I'm more than alright.'  
Jack grinned. 'Good to hear.'  
Rolling onto his side Ianto let his eyes move down Jack's body. 'What about you?' Eyes blown with lust as he considered the not inconsiderable bulge in the older man's pants. Brushing against him with the tips of his fingers, touch tentative but determined. 'May I?'  
Jack nodded, almost afraid to breathe least he startle Ianto. 'Just ah, do what feels good for you and ah, yeah.' He swallowed as the belt was unbuckled, button undone and the zip drawn down. He'd wanted to see Ianto wreaked beneath him, now it seemed he was returning the favour.  
Ianto let the world fade away as he focused on Jack's eyes and breathing. Letting the little hitches dictate the speed at which he touched Jack's cock. Marvelling at the feel of the skin to his touch and the hard length in his hand. He ignored the tiny flash of fear at the idea of taking that cock further, into his body. Concentrating instead on doing what Jack said, on doing what felt good to him. Judging from the honesty in the thoughts Jack was projecting back to him, and the gasps in his breathing Ianto had to consider he wasn't doing too badly. There was, almost to his surprise, no fear or doubt in his own mind over the rightness of his actions. A slight hesitancy as to taking it further just yet but right now, here in this bed, it just felt right. A sentiment clearly shared by Jack as he called out his orgasm and filled the space between them.  
'Oh Ianto.' Jack sighed as he collapsed back on the bed, still fully dressed with the exception of being un-tucked and exposed to view.  
'Was?' Uncertainty flooding him as he asked. 'Was that alright?'  
Jack rolled onto his side to met Ianto's gaze with his own, needing to impress the truth of his words on the young man. 'That was amazing Yan, I should be asking you if you're okay.'  
'You did say to do what feels good...' He trailed off, his cheeks heating as he blushed.

Jack brushed a gentle kiss on Ianto's lips. 'Trust me, you have nothing to worry about in that respect. And I'm more than happy to follow this at your pace. I'll even keep sleeping in pyjamas if it helps.'  
'Right now I don't care what you sleep in.' Ianto yawned. 'But I need to brush my teeth.'  
'Probably a good idea.' Jack countered with a yawn of his own. 'Your tooth bush in my bathroom or yours?'  
'Both.' Ianto rose to his feet and headed for Jack's bathroom. 'I have three.'  
'You know, if they need to Pip and his daughter could always stay here for a bit. I have the other spare room, one of them would have to use your room though.'

Sticking his head around the doorway Ianto nodded. 'I can move the rest of my stuff in here if you don't mind. I just don't think I have it in me to spend another day with a real estate agent without adult supervision.'  
Jack laughed. 'Call him tomorrow and see if he's agreeable. That should give them both a bit of time to explore Cardiff before the next term starts, its the holidays now isn't it.'  
Ianto nodded before heading back into the bathroom. 'Will do.'  
Jack was pulling a pair of pyjama pants on when Ianto walked back into the bedroom.  
'Bathroom's free. Are any of my pj's in here or across the hall?'  
'Grab a pair of mine, I think it's safe to say you've been in my pants now.'  
'That would never have worked when I was with Lisa. The six months we were staying over before we moved in together were a nightmare for my wardrobe.'  
'Can't be that different to now, it's split between two bedrooms and the Hub, like your tooth brush collection.'  
'Yes, but now if I put one of your shirts, no one notices.'  
Jack stopped in the door way and looked carefully at Ianto. 'You never did.'  
'No, but it would have been obvious if I had. Now.' He shrugged. 'I wore one of your blue shirts the other day and no one said a thing.'  
Jack laughed. 'So practical.'  
'Yeap, that's me, very practical.'  
'You do look good in a suit though.'  
Ianto climbed under the covers and rolled his eyes. 'Sexual harassment Sir.'  
'We're not at work so I don't think it counts.' Jack counted before climbing in next to Ianto and switching the light off.  
'It always counts.' Ianto purred as he leaned in for a good night kiss. 'Sir.'

Jack spent Saturday helping Ianto move his clothes across the hall in preparation for the arrival of Pip and his daughter. The plan was for Ianto to settle their house guests and spend a few days helping them with house hunting. In between visits to the Hub to make coffee and slowly introduce Pip to his new working environment. Privately Jack wasn't sure how hopeful he should be at the idea of easing the Londoner into the fold but he'd been surprised before. Thoughts of Owen flashing in his mind, but he'd put that fire out when he needed to. Once he worked out how.

Sunday was spent having lunch with Rhi and the kids, Johnny having once again picked extra shifts up at work needed the peace of a quite home to sleep. Jack didn't ask what the man did, he just enjoyed how normal it felt to have Ianto's sister and her two children in his home. Watching them tear around in the back yard made him a little nostalgic for the childhood he missed out on with Alice and now Steven but he shoved it down as he turned to watch Ianto and Rhi talking in Welsh. He knew he could listen in to their thoughts but he couldn't guarantee they would be thinking in English and it was an invasion of their privacy so he busied himself with loading the dishwasher.

Speaking in Welsh Rhi laughed at her brother's eyes, following the American's movements. 'How long have you been seeing him proper then?'  
Ianto shrugged, answering the question she'd been skirting around with none of the hesitation he thought he'd have. 'We've only really just started dating.'  
'One of my friends saw you, the other evening, out. Said there weren't much room for anyone else at the table.'  
Ianto blushed. 'It's not all men Rhi, it really is just him.'  
She smiled, reaching out to take her brother's hand in hers. 'If he makes you happy Yan, that's all that matters.'  
'Don't suppose it's not too late to ask you not to tell your husband?'  
She laughed. 'You know no one can keep a secret on the estate.'  
'Yeah, I know.'  
'He isn't half gorgeous your fella, and the kids like him.' Watching her brother's eyes light up with a smile as he nodded.  
'He is rather, isn't he.'  
'And you sure he doesn't speak Welsh?'  
'Only the sort of language you don't like the kids using.'  
'I'm glad you're happy. Last time I were here, I were well worried like you weren't ever going to smile again.'  
'Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if Lisa hadn't.'  
'Don't.' Rhi shook her head. 'Do not finish that sentence.'

At the sink Jack spun around and fixed Ianto with a look asking if he was okay. Relieved when the younger man switched back to English.  
'I'm fine Jack.'  
Also back to English Rhi nodded. 'You two going to explain that to me any time soon?'  
Jack grinned. 'Probably not, if you haven't worked it out yet I mean.'  
'Ah ha. Bet that makes them talk at work.'  
Jack shrugged. 'I'm the boss so what can they do.'  
Rhi was about to respond when her phone beeped. 'That will be Johnny.' Her tone leaving no doubt that Jack had just received a lucky reprieve. 'I best drag the kids home so they can see their tad before he goes to work. Thank you for having us over for lunch Jack, you have a lovely home. It's nice to see it happy again.'  
'Yes, and I hope we see more of you Rhiannon, family is important after all.'  
She nodded at the sincerity she felt from him before reaching over to grab her brother's hand. 'You keep talking Yan, don't lock yourself away like mam did.'  
'I wont.'

Jack watched them rise to their feet, an almost mirror image of action as they embraced before she scooped her purse up and called out to the children. He watched as they obediently trooped back into the kitchen and flung their arms around Ianto. Caught unawares he found himself also on the receiving end of a hug, Mica looked up at him with an understanding in her eyes that left Jack in no doubt that she too had inherited Ina Jones' gifts.  
'I like you Uncle Jack.'  
He smiled down at her and nodded. 'You're not so bad yourself kid.'  
'I know.' She agreed before moving back to her mother's side.  
After they left Jack reached out to Ianto. 'You should invite them around more often. I like seeing this side of you.'  
'You like seeing me in jeans.'  
Jack shrugged. 'I don't mind what you're wearing Yan, you know that. But I meant what I said, family is important, it's too easy to lose that with the lives we're leading. Until one day you turn around and realize they aren't standing next to you any more.'  
'How do you do it Jack? You can't even reach out and call whoever it was you left behind.'  
'I lost them long before I left, one day I'll tell you about the worst day of my life, since I'm pretty sure I've seen yours.'  
Ianto stepped into Jack's personal space and wrapped his arms around him. 'You certainly did. Although the weevil killing you in the park is a close second.'  
Jack reached up and cupped Ianto's cheek in his hands. 'You knew I'd come back, I'll always come back for you Ianto.'  
Ianto sighed softly and smiled as he leaned into Jack's touch knowing that one day he wouldn't be there to come back to.

Monday morning was uneventful. Ianto went into the Hub until Pip rung to say they were passing the Welcome to Cardiff sign. Ensuring everyone was suitably caffeinated he headed back to the house. He wasn't waiting long before Pip pulled into the drive.  
'No lorry?'  
Pip shook his head. 'No point until we find a place.'  
Ianto nodded at the logic before looking to the young woman who had grown since he had last seen her. Long copper coloured curls shook as she spun around and flew across the open space to throw her arms around a familiar person.  
'Ianto, I'm so glad you're okay.'  
'Its good to see you too Lilah.'  
She stepped back and took in the black suit he was wearing and grinned. 'You look like a butler dressed like that.'  
Ianto straightened his tie and winked. 'We all have our uniforms, I get more done when I wear the suit and it's habit from working in London.'  
She stopped smiling at his last comment. 'Dad still wont tell me what really happened and the stuff online is just plain mental so I don't know what to believe.'  
'Lilah.' Pip warned. 'No one wants to talk about it yeah so leave it.'  
Ianto laughed. 'You know the likelihood of that working is minimal at best.'  
'I can try, maybe even distract her with a house to explore and then we can unpack.' He nodded hopefully at the look on the Welshman's face as he began extracting bags from the car. 'Oi, Lilah, get over here and help.'  
'I've been stuck in a car for hours and I think something seized up.'  
'We were barely out of London when you fell asleep. I had to listen to you snoring the entire way.'  
'So. Better that than the music you listen too and you were the one who wanted to leave at dawn not me.' She grumbled at her father. 'Anyway, where's my room? Actually scratch that, wheres the lav?'  
Ianto nodded as he picked two bags up. 'Follow me.'  
'It wasn't dawn.' Pip called after the retreating teen.  
'Whatever dad.'

Pip smiled while shaking his head before turning to the car, emptying it of bags and suitcases by the time they returned. Nodding to Ianto he asked. 'We aren't putting you out, staying like this are we?'  
Ianto shook his head. 'Not at all.'  
'Even if you have to share with Jack?' He teased.  
Laughing Ianto shook his head. 'I've rather gotten used to that.'  
Lilah gave a contented sigh as she joined the conversation. 'God that feels better. My room has it's own bathroom dad, with a proper bath and everything.'  
Ianto shrugged. 'They all do, or the three on that level anyway.'  
'There are more bedrooms?'  
'Yes, in the attic but they have boxes in them.' He gave her a sad smile before heading inside, leaving them to follow.

Lilah turned to her father. 'Boxes of his stuff from London?'  
'Yes. And I would suggest you can the questions and for gods sake don't say anything about it around Jack.'  
'Bit quick that, isn't it? Jumping from Lisa to this Jack.'  
Pip sighed. 'Please try not to judge them based on your entire seventeen years of life experience Lilah-Rose.' With cases in hand he followed after Ianto leaving her in what he hoped was no doubt that that particular conversation was over.

Pip found Ianto in the hall outside the bedrooms. 'Which one is me?'  
'I put you in the room I had, and Lilah is next door. There is fresh linen on the beds and towels in the bathrooms.'  
'Right, I meant what I said, I do hope we aren't putting you out by being here.' He set his cases next to the bed and grinned as Ianto blushed. 'Oh hell Ianto, he's got charisma and he clearly cares for you.'  
Ianto smiled as he set the cases down he was carrying. 'I know.'  
Pip clasped Ianto on the shoulder and flashed him a soft smile. 'Come on, lets get the rest in before it rains, worse than London this place.'

Walking down the stairs Ianto asked the question he'd been chewing over all morning. 'What happened?'  
Pip followed the younger man's line of sight and sighed softly as his eyes fell on his daughter. Switching to German he sighed. 'I have no idea. She wont tell me. I found Lilah on my doorstep as Lilith was driving away. All her bags dumped out along with a distraught kid and a letter from the solicitor telling me she was now entirely my responsibility.' He shook his head. 'Part of me wonders if I'm not being punished for surviving Canary Wharf.'  
Ianto stopped. 'What?'  
'Oh, you forgot about the death benefits of being an employee of Torchwood. Bloody guilt money you ask me.'  
'Maybe that is why the Crown Solicitor has been trying to contact me.'  
'Return their call Ianto.'  
'I wasn't there.'  
'Maybe not when it happened but you got there quicker than I did, and as an active employee you still qualify for the hush money. For me.' He shrugged. 'It will go a long way towards the cost of university. Not as much as if I'd been killed mind.'  
Ianto gave a bitter laugh. 'You're still a Torchwood employee so there's plenty of time for that to happen.' Reaching the car he picked two more bags up. 'Which bedroom do these belong in?'

Ianto made coffee while Pip and Lilah settled into their temporary home, his tiny half smile firmly in place following the conversation he'd just had with Jack. He turned at the sound of footsteps and smiled as Lilah threw herself into a chair and grabbed at the plate of sandwiches on the table.  
'They have bacon on them or are you still being a conscientious vegetarian?'  
She laughed. 'That was just to annoy Lilith, like I could ever give bacon up. Is there a coffee going?'  
Ianto looked at her for a moment and nodded, handing her the cup he was holding. 'Sugar's on the table.'  
'Thanks Ianto, and the brown sauce?'  
'Not for your coffee I hope.' He kept his tone bland as he pulled the bottle from the fridge.  
Grinning she popped the top off the bacon sandwich before adding the sauce.' 'Hardly.'  
'Good, try one and a half teaspoons of sugar in your coffee rather than the sauce.'  
Reaching for the sugar she nodded. 'You're the master.'  
Pip walked into the room. 'When it comes to coffee he is.' Taking the cup Ianto offered him. 'And I smell bacon?'  
'You do.' Lilah finished stirring her coffee before trying it. 'Oh wow.'  
Ianto smiled a small smile. 'Thank you.'

\----------

Jack looked at his watch and groaned, it was barely lunch time and Ianto had only left the hub just over an hour ago. Talking to him, hearing his laughter and his beautiful Welsh vowels only made the time apart harder to take. At least when he was in the Hub he was only a short walk away. One hundred and twelve seconds on average, Ianto had been timing him. He was trying to get it down to under a hundred but that only earned him an earful from rushing past the others and had lead to one spilled tray of coffee. He was still getting reminded of that and he'd done at least three other stupid things since then. His only consolation, he was pretty sure Ianto missed him too. He spun around in his chair a few times before jumping when the phone on his desk rang. He wasn't expecting anyone to call as he picked the phone up.  
'Harkness.'

Down in the Hub Owen added another report to the completed pile and turned his attention to the absence of lunch. 'Oi, Tosh, Suz, either of you hungry?'  
Tosh peered around her computer and frowned. 'Didn't we just have breakfast an hour ago?'  
'Ah no, that was several hours ago Toshiko, oh light of my life. It's lunch time now.'  
'Oh yeah.' She checked the time on her computer. 'So it is, wonder how Ianto's getting on with settling Pip and his daughter into Jack's house.'  
Suzie wandered over with her yoghurt and pointed the spoon at Tosh. 'That's right, you've been to the house.'  
'So have I.' Owen interjected.  
Suzie shook her head. 'Checking on Ianto in the hopes of a coffee doesn't count.'  
'So moving back to my lunch, what do you ladies fancy? Sushi? Pub lunch, a bacon buttie at the Greasy Spoon.'  
'And get food poisoning?' Tosh shook her head. 'No to the Greasy Spoon.'  
'That was one time.'  
'No it wasn't.' Suzie added. 'You said that after the first time so we tried again, remember?'  
Owen blushed. 'Oh yeah. We could do pizza? Jubilee will deliver.'  
'Fine, just don't order it in the name of Torchwood this time. We are supposed to be a secret base.' Suzie smiled before walking away with her yoghurt.  
Owen turned to Tosh. 'What sort of idiot does she take me for.'  
'That was rhetorical I hope.' Tosh smiled before turning back to her computer.

\----------

Jack walked in the door and found Ianto in the kitchen, apron neatly tied in place and the smell of steak filling the room. 'Honey I'm home, did you miss me?'  
'Always Sir.' Ianto maintained in his usual deadpan tone. 'I had to make the salad all by myself.'  
Jack grinned as he leaned against the counter. 'Did you now, and our guests?'  
'Unpacking. We spent the afternoon touring the city with a focus on the shops for the teenager and what areas they wanted to look for a house in.'  
'Cool.'  
Ianto turned to focus on Jack. 'Cool?'  
'Isn't that what the kids say these days?' He turned as he heard laughter enter the room.  
'Hardly, you must be Jack, I'm Lilah.'  
Jack nodded at the young woman who was unabashedly looking him up and down.  
'Nice coat.'  
'Thank you, Ianto's rather fond of it too.'  
She looked at the Welshman who nodded.  
'That is true.' He added before turning back to his pan.  
Jack gave her a smug smile. 'He likes it.'  
'Yes.' Ianto said over his shoulder. 'And if you got anything on it you'll be washing it yourself.'  
'I had a depressingly quiet day in the office Ianto, although the Colonel rang. Twice.'  
'Should I be worried Sir?'  
'Probably.' Jack agreed as levered himself off the counter and moved to set the table. 'That's why I'm late but I'll tell you all about it over a bubble bath if you like.'

Lilah screwed her face up. 'Why would you want to ruin a perfectly good bubble bath by talking about work?'  
Ianto nodded. 'She has a valid point, Sir.'  
'And why do you call him Sir? Or is that one of those things I shouldn't be asking because I'm seventeen and you're consenting adults.'  
Pip, walking into the room stalled mid-step. 'Am I missing something?'  
Lilah shrugged. 'Not sure, unless you didn't know they share bubble baths while talking shop.'  
'We don't usually talk about work in the bath do we Yan?'  
'No Sir, since we haven't shared a bath previously I can safely say, we do not.'  
Jack shook his head muttering about Ianto being no fun, adding wine glasses to the table before looking to Pip. 'Do you and or Lilah drink red wine?'  
'A glass with dinner yes.'  
Jack grinned. 'Excellent I have a bottle I've been meaning to open.'

Ianto watched as the man vanished into a cupboard he'd never actually opened, checking his steaks were fine to leave unattended he followed when Jack didn't immediately return. Finding a flight of stairs that spiraled down he found Jack. 'You have a cellar?'  
'Totally why I brought the place Yan.' Jack grinned.  
'You barely drink.'  
He shrugged. 'Only because most of the alcohol here is like soda pop compared to what I was drinking before I turned up in Cardiff.'  
'Hmm, you'll have to tell me about that some time.'  
'What? Something Ianto Jones doesn't know?'  
Ianto raised an eyebrow as he turned to check some of the labels. 'Hang on.'  
Looking over his shoulder Jack grinned. 'Oh yeah, forgot I had that. Picked it up after the end of the second world war. Philippe was on to a winner with his Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Although it's a bit rich for steak so I thought this one might be good.' He handed Ianto a bottle. 'Don't drop it, I might not have paid much for it back in the early sixties but that doesn't mean it's easy to get hold of now.'  
Ianto had to resist raising his eyebrow even further before handing the bottle back to Jack. 'The steaks should be done.'  
'Okay, I was hoping to be home sooner before I got stuck talking to Colonel Mace.'  
'He wanted?'  
'Not world peace.' Jack sighed. 'Maybe he does but today he wants a UNIT presence to help sort the weevils out and the Cardiff police also want some sort of liaison officer. I think they're ganging up on me.'  
'Possibly, did either mention what this might all look like?'

Jack shook his head. 'That's not how it works, you've been locked in the archives so you may not have seen it. No, some idiot gets an idea and then dumps said idea onto the rest of us to sort out. No matter how many worlds I've seen, I've yet to see a government operate differently.' He led then out of his wine cellar and grinned as he saw Pip plating up steaks and setting potatoes and a salad on the table. 'Come on, dinner smells amazing and I don't want to ruin my appetite by talking any further about work.'  
Ianto scoffed. 'Like that's going to happen.'  
'You didn't hear the conversation starter Owen threw on the table at lunch.' Jack muttered darkly. Days like today sometimes left him wondering how no one had murdered the wiry little man. Or if he perhaps was a different person in his life and world before Torchwood. Lucia had once accused Torchwood of being a cancer that destroyed all it touched and sometimes, no matter how privately, he agreed. He shucked his thoughts aside in favour of watching Ianto open the bottle of wine from a tiny little Chateau he'd spent a fun filled few months at in the early sixties in the Bordeaux region of France.

Settling back in the bubbles of the bath Jack had run for them Ianto leaned against the man. 'So a liaison officer.' He felt Jack sigh behind him.  
'Public safety concerns and blah blah blah stuff. I know I talked about talking to UNIT and the Heddlu but a liaison officer wasn't what I had in mind.'  
'What did you have in mind?' Rolling his eyes at how the words sounded once they left his mouth.  
Jack grinned as he reached around Ianto to start washing him, sending a few images to Ianto.  
'And none of that will end up with all the water on the floor?'  
'Probably.'  
'Hmm. I think we should just enjoy the bubbles then.'  
'Spoil sport.' Jack grinned as his tone warmed. 'What's your plan for tomorrow.'  
'Head to the Hub, make coffee and meet Pip and Lilah at a house they arranged to view.'  
'When you're in the office can you take a look at Suzie's glove? Cast your archivists eye over it.'  
'That reminds me, I wanted to see how you felt about getting another archivist in.'  
Jack rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder. 'Could look at that, you have anyone in mind?'  
'Might, Pip reminded me of someone we worked with.'  
'I thought we got the files on all the survivors.'  
'She was no longer in the employ of Torchwood at the time.'  
'Really?' Jack knew there was a story in a statement like that as he wrapped his arms around Ianto, his hand disappearing under the water.  
'Ah I don't believe my penis is in need of quite that much washing Sir.'  
'Sorry, couldn't help myself.'  
'Oh I think you were helping yourself quite nicely, but I wont discuss my former workmates if you continue to ah, wash, me, Sir.'  
Jack kept his hand moving along Ianto's receptive length, his breath warm on the shell of the Welshman's perfectly formed ear. 'That's okay Yan, we don't have to talk right now.'


	13. Babysitting

Jack rolled over to find Ianto already dressed. 'Damn, I missed the best bits, but why are you already dressed?'  
Ianto grinned as he leaned in for a good morning kiss. 'I went for a run with Pip.'  
'Oh.'  
Seeing Jack's pout Ianto nodded. 'You should come tomorrow.' His tone teasing as he straightened his tie and smoothed the front of his jacket.  
Jack stretched like a cat, running a hand over his chest. 'Body of a man a fraction my age me.'  
'Which fraction Sir? Half? Or quarter?'  
Jack's grin faded for a moment before he launched himself at the laughing Welshman. 'Come here and say that.'  
Dancing out of his reach Ianto ran for the door. 'Is this where you tell me you'll show me what a man your age can do?' Racing into the hallway he headed for the stairs. 'Because you'll have to catch me first old man.'

Down in the kitchen Pip looked up from the pan of bacon he was cooking as a fully dressed Ianto tumbled though the door followed by Jack still dressed in a tee shirt and pyjama pants and calling after the Welshman.  
'I'm not that old Ianto Jones.'  
'In dog year's you'd be ancient.'  
'Cheeky sod, you do know that youth and enthusiasm will only take you so far when faced with the treachery of experience.' Jack warned, eyes glinting with mischief. 'You will answer for that later.'  
Pip watched the two men share a smile as Ianto turned to the coffee machine. Putting his best dad voice on he tried not to smile himself. 'If you gents are finished, breakfast is done, if I could have some plates please.'  
'Lilah still sleeping?' Jack asked, moving to the cupboard.  
'Not bloody likely.' The teen entered the room, dressing gown belted over her hello kitty pyjamas. 'I thought aliens were invading with that racket.'  
Pip brushed a fatherly kiss on her head as he placed toast on the table. 'No such thing love, you know that.'  
'Yeah right dad, even Lilith didn't believe you at the end.'  
Pip shrugged as he turned back with the bacon. 'Then you must be right.'  
Ianto, handing around coffees took his seat next to Jack and exchanged a look that spoke of the conversation to follow before Jack melted into the first sip of coffee.  
'Well breakfast looks good.' Jack set his coffee down and looked to Pip. 'What will you be doing until you meet Ianto at the house you're looking at?'  
'Oh I have no doubt it will take this one that long to get ready so probably just the washing up.'  
'Whatever dad.'  
Pip grinned. 'I'm going to hit google for more house listings, now I have a better idea of the where I want to look. Sooner we find something and all that.'  
Lilah groaned. 'Oh goodie, a day of traipsing though other peoples hopes and dreams.'  
A sentiment with which Ianto privately agreed.

Jack reached for the toast. 'Make sure you give us the addresses of any you want to seriously look at and I'll have Tosh work her magic.'  
Lilah shook her head. 'Why?'  
He shrugged. 'What's the point of having a computer genius if we can't get her to find out everything about the property before you put an offer in. Besides, not all houses have great pasts, Cardiff has had a few serial killers over the years.'  
'Oh gross, I don't want to live in a murderers house.'  
'Good thing we can check.' Jack winked. 'I should get ready for work, we may not have a dress code per say but.' He shrugged.  
Lilah yawned before rising to her feet. 'I should get dressed too.'  
'And I was going to ask you to help me with the washing up.' Pip added as he smiled at his daughter.  
'Oh that's totally my queue to leave the table.'

Jack waited for her to leave the room before turning to Pip. 'What does she know about your job?'  
'Just the words government and secret. So of course she thinks she knows exactly what that means.'  
'Ah ha, and can we expect her to have a presence in the Hub?'  
Pip sighed. 'Hadn't thought about that, it was never a problem in London but everything's changed now.'  
'Life does that to us. I'll leave you to think about it.' Jack nodded to Ianto before stepping out of the kitchen.  
Pip finished his coffee. 'Will he let her in the Hub?'  
Ianto shrugged. 'It's not a nine to five world in Cardiff, so she may need to know what we do, or some of it at least. Besides, soon as she mentions at school you work for Torchwood she'll find out for sure.'  
'You lot really don't go into the secret side of things do you.'  
'Don't blame me, it wasn't my idea to drive around in a bloody great obvious SUV with Torchwood emblazoned on the roof.'  
'Oh yeah.' Pip grinned. 'I've heard stories about your SUV, was disappointed I only got such a short look at it last time.'  
'The SUV or Jack's driving?' Ianto muttered as he moved to help clear the dishes.

\----------

Ianto stood next to Jack's desk, looking at the glove Suzie had been working on. An expectant Jack hovering over his shoulder.   
'What exactly am I supposed to do? Look for a hallmark like on Antiques Roadshow and give you a valuation for insurance purposes?'  
'But you are an archivist Yan.'  
'I wasn't exactly allowed to handle the artefacts until they had been assessed and classified. I was the office junior who'd been working in a coffee shop, no formal qualifications me.' He glared at the offending artefact and began muttering in Welsh. 'Something I wasn't expecting to change on Reggie's watch.'  
'Mumbling in Welsh is only sexy when I'm sure you're saying nice things about me.' Jack cautioned.  
'You know, I'm twenty four now and I speak the language, by default, you've had more than enough time to learn it, Sir.'  
'Never seemed important. But this isn't about me.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes as he looked at the glove. 'Are you sure my talents might not be better utilized in making another round of coffees before I leave Sir.'  
Jack frowned as he considered Ianto's unwillingness to be around the glove. 'What is it?'  
'If I touch the glove.' Ianto turned to face Jack, trying to find words to describe, to explain. 'It's like. There's a storm contained within and if I touch it, I wake it up. And something tells me I really don't want to do that, Sir.'  
Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto. 'Then don't touch it. We'll figure it out eventually.'  
Looking at the glove out the corner of his eye he considered how much that thought bothered him and he just wished he knew why. It was like the glove was some sort of unexpressed portent of doom and in figuring it out they would lose much more than they could ever hope to gain. 

Ignoring his feelings Ianto relaxed as he let the warmth of Jack fold around him before he let the realities of the life they lead creep back into his conscious thoughts.  
'Ianto, what are you thinking about? You've gone quiet.'  
'Lilah. We both know what's going to happen soon as she starts school and someone asks what her parents do.'  
'Oh yeah.' Jack let Ianto pull away and he sat on the edge of his desk. 'What does her mother do?'  
'Lilith? Not entirely sure she isn't the head of the HR department in Hell, that woman has always been cold and unpleasant on a good day.'  
'But Pip seems so, well, nice.'  
'I don't know all the details but they met when he was in the Royal British Marines. When she didn't like him being away training or on deployment he left, and started at whichever of the M-I's he worked for.'  
'Not entirely sure that's less travel.'  
'I suspect not, he speaks several languages.'  
'So that's why he switched to Torchwood?'  
'I think so, he started there the day after I did so we were inducted and put though basic training together.'  
'Ah, that explains so much.'  
Ianto smiled. 'I should probably make another round of coffee before I met him at the estate agents.'  
'More house hunting?' Ianto flashed him a look that left him grinning. 'Okay then. I'll walk you to the coffee machine and we can discuss how much Pip should tell his daughter.'  
'Thank you Sir, I would hate to be mobbed between here and the kitchen.'  
'You can joke about it Yan but you weren't here without coffee yesterday afternoon.'  
Ianto rolled his eyes. 'I see Sir.'  
Jack shook his head. 'I'm not sure you do.'

\----------

Ianto walked back into the Hub after his time spent looking at yet more houses, to find Owen waiting for him. Judging by the doctor's expression he wasn't sure if he was going to get hugged or hit. 'Hello Owen.' Jack hadn't called to say there had been any emergencies.  
'Ianto.'  
'Something I can do for you?'  
Owen thrust his coffee cup out in front of him.  
Ianto took the cup, a single eyebrow raised to match his half smile. 'Of course.' He looked past Owen to where Suzie stood next to Tosh, he nodded before heading to the kitchen. He found Jack there, leaning against the counter.  
'Hello Ianto.'  
'Sir.'  
'Did you miss me Ianto?'  
'Always Sir.'  
Jack grinned. 'How did the house hunting go?'  
Ianto chanced a glance as he handed a coffee cup over. 'They are looking at two more places this afternoon, I didn't think I needed to be there.'  
Jack laughed. 'Thought you two were a couple?'  
'At first.' Ianto admitted. 'But Lilah was rather quick to point out the single flaw in that logic.'  
'Oh yes?'  
'Apparently I already have a very lovely boyfriend.'  
Jack leaned forward, coffee cup set aside. 'So. Are we a couple then?'  
'We do live together Sir, or is that something you would like to discuss further?'  
He watched as Jack gave him a genuine smile while shaking his head.  
'I'm oddly okay with the idea. And I know you told your sister you're with me...' He trailed off as he watched for a reaction.  
Ianto nodded. 'Perhaps we should discuss this tonight Sir.' He smiled as he leaned over, his thumb brushing a line of coffee from Jack's upper lip before licking the drops of coffee from the pad of his thumb. 'I believe we all have work to do. Sir.' Picking his tray of coffee up he walked away from Jack, knowing the man's eyes were firmly glued to his very well tailored arse. The little extra something in his step was, as always, entirely deliberate.

Ianto handed the remaining coffees out to the rest of the team as Tosh asked how the house hunting was progressing.  
'I have a few addresses for you to look into if you would be so kind.' Handing her a folded notebook page.  
Tosh laughed. 'For you Ianto, of course. What am I looking for?'  
He shrugged. 'Make sure any extensions have planning permission and no one went on a killing spree there type thing. Perhaps what the neighbours are like, no reality tv shows as a preference. I would also suggest checking for rift activity in the general area so we don't have to worry about Pip bringing work into the Hub with him.'  
Suzie laughed. 'Usually the problem is folks taking work home.' Her eyes finding Owen who scowled at her before turning back to his computer. She leaned over to check the addresses Tosh was looking at. 'Roath Park.'  
'Yes, close to both the University and Cardiff High School.'  
'Some nice houses around there. So when can we expect to see our new team mate in the office?'  
'Tomorrow at this stage but it depends on a few details.'  
Suzie considered the topic of conversation they had shared in his absence, over lunch. 'Like what to tell the kid.'  
'That is a consideration. If you will excuse me, I have work waiting for me.' With a smile he headed for his archives.

Jack sent everyone home and went looking for Ianto, not that it was hard to find the man, when he'd been sent an email with directions on exactly where in the archives he was. And what his reward might consist of should he find him in a suitable time frame.  
Ianto sat on the desk, feet swinging casually as he clicked the button on the stopwatch. 'You took your time, Sir.' Pocketing the watch he loosened his tie. 'I sent you that email six minutes and thirty two seconds ago.'  
'Owen was being a wanker.' His eyes following the moment of the Welshman's long elegant fingers. 'But I'm here now.' He advanced on his archivist until he was standing between Ianto's legs, fingertips brushing finely cut cheekbones before dipping in to claim his lips. His words whispered. 'Is this where we talk about being a couple? I don't always like that word but I'm willing to make an exception for you.'  
'I did make one or two exceptions myself.' Ianto moved his hands to Jack's chest.  
'I know. And I'm glad you did.' He leaned into Ianto and let the younger man wrap him in his thoughts and arms. 'Shall we make out a bit more before heading home? And there is the small matter of my reward to discuss.'  
Ianto grinned. 

The Audi stopped as Ianto turned to Jack, shutting the engine off. 'Have you decided what Pip can tell Lilah?'  
'The basics, we hunt aliens and it's supposed to be a secret.'  
'And the Hub?'  
'Tourist office entrance, restricted access with her own code so she can be tracked. And if she says anything or brings anyone else in, she gets sent home to her mother. Retconned.' Jack paused. 'Or boarding school. In Scotland.'  
Ianto nodded. 'Very well Sir.'  
'It's cold in Scotland.'  
'It is Sir.'  
Jack reached for Ianto's hand. 'I'm glad you agree, come on, lets go inside.'  
'No offer to make out in the car Sir?'  
Jack's grin turned into a smile. 'Well, when you put it like that...'

In the kitchen Pip looked up from the pasta sauce he was stirring. 'Didn't I hear Ianto's car?'  
Lilah crossed the room, peeking out the window. 'Yes.'  
'So they are?' Tasting the sauce he frowned until adding a little sugar he tried it again.  
'Making out like teenagers, it's disgusting.' She shook her head. 'What are they thinking? I mean at their age. Ianto I get but Jack must be at least thirty six.'  
'I'm only forty one young lady.'  
'I rest my case.' She muttered, resuming her internet search. 'Oh look, here's a semi-detached we should totally check out.'

Tuesday morning Ianto walked out of the bathroom straightening his tie to find Jack handing him his cell phone.  
'It's your sister.'  
He took the phone. 'Rhi?'  
'Oh god I'm so sorry to call like this but I need someone to look after Mica.'  
'Slow down Rhi, what's happened?'  
Jack finished getting dressed, giving Ianto the privacy he looked like he needed.

Ianto tucked his phone in his pocket and squared his shoulders back. 'So my sister is in a bit of a bother, as you gathered from speaking with her. Johnny's working and can't be reached and David's had an accident. She needs to go to the hospital with him but doesn't want to take Mica.'  
'You need the day off?'  
Ianto picked his suit jacket up and began heading to the kitchen. 'That or a suitable alternative but Rhi can't really pay anyone to look after her.'  
'Would she be happy with Lilah looking after Mica here? I don't mind paying.' It occurred to him if he was on better terms with his daughter he could have asked Alice. He hadn't seen his daughter or her son recently and didn’t think turning up with the four year old niece of his new boyfriend was the best way to initiate contact.

Oblivious to the plight of the adults around her Lilah stared at the laptop and groaned. 'This email from Toshiko totally rules out that sweet place with the spa. That totally sucks dad.'  
Pip patted her on the shoulder. 'Just as well we got the address checked out then.'  
'Still totally sucks, how important can planning permission really be.' She looked up as Jack and Ianto walked into the room. 'Well at least I don't look like someone stole my puppy.'  
Ianto nodded. 'My sister needs someone to look after my niece. I don't suppose we can impose on you for the day?'  
Lilah leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest as her eyes narrowed. 'For a fee Ianto, almost anything is possible.'  
Pip grinned in the background. 'I don't have any houses to look at today. I'm still waiting on the estate agent to get back to me to arrange the next lot of viewings. So I was hoping I could get into the office.'  
Jack pulled his wallet out and set three, ten pound notes on the table. 'If Ianto's sister is agreeable I will pay you an additional thirty pounds for looking after Mica.'  
She nodded. 'When will she get here or am I going to her house?'  
'Rhi and Mica will be here in about twenty minutes.' Ianto felt himself relaxing as he moved towards the coffee machine. 'But Jack, I'll pay Lilah.'  
Lilah rose to her feet and moved towards him. 'I have one condition.'  
Ianto turned to her, his expression losing some of it's warmth. 'Yes?'  
'You have to teach me how to make coffee.'

Pip followed Jack and Ianto into the Hub, eyes wide as he took in his new surrounds.  
Jack frowned at Ianto. 'How come he's impressed? You weren't impressed.' Watching as Pip began exploring the central space, his eyes filled with glee.  
'I'm an archivist, dark and underground isn't really all that spectacular. Besides, you didn't have the pteranodon when I started.'  
Pip caught Ianto's last words and stopped. 'A what?'  
'Pteranodon, named Myfanwy.' Ianto smiled before moving past Jack. 'I'll get the coffee on.'  
Coming back to the conversation Pip looked at Jack and shook his head. 'He hasn't really changed much.'  
'You thought he had?'  
'He wasn't sleeping with his boss in London.'  
'Even I wouldn't have slept with Weggie. Come on, I'll find you a desk, Tosh will sort your access out when she gets here.'  
'And your medic?'  
'Ah.' Jack stopped at an empty workstation. 'He's persona non grata right now.'  
'Ianto suggested he was a grumpy git with Torchwood One shaped issues.'  
'I understand his concern and can see his point.' Jack conceded without elaborating. 'But he could have played it a little differently. He'll slink in later.'  
'Should I be worried?' Pip asked.  
'Only of a cold stethoscope. His coffee is also being rationed at present so he's even more dour than usual.'  
Ianto approached with a tray of coffees. 'That's a cherry thought Sir.'  
Pip looked at the tray and frowned. 'Five coffees? You didn't give Jack enough at breakfast?'  
Jack shook his head. 'Give it a moment, he's not been wrong yet. Yours will be the green one.'  
Reaching for the cup he looked up as the alarm sounded and the cog door rolled open. He watched as Suzie and Toshiko called out hellos and made a beeline for the coffees clearly waiting for them.

'Ianto, if I thought I could woo you away from Jack I would.' Suzie gave him a wink as she sipped her coffee.  
Jack sighed. 'Suzie I have been though this, there is to be no flirting with my Ianto.' His smile giving him away as she laughed.  
'Oh but it's so much fun to try.'  
'Ah ha.'  
He turned to Tosh. 'Can you sort the access codes etcetera out for Pip please.'  
'Sure, I wasn't expecting you to all be here so soon.'  
'My daughter is babysitting Ianto's niece.'  
'Is everything okay?' Tosh turned to Ianto who nodded.  
'My nephew had an accident, probably trying to fly again. Mica is quite sensitive and doesn't do well in hospitals so she's with Lilah while my sister is at Cardiff Infirmary with Dav.'  
She patted him on the arm and gave him her most reassuringly warm smile. 'I'm sure they'll all be fine Ianto.' She looked over at Jack. 'What's this costing?'  
Jack grinned. 'Sixty quid and coffee making lessons.'  
'Hell, I'd have babysat for those rates.' Suzie quipped. 'Unless it was Jack teaching me how to make the coffee.'  
Jack looked at Suzie. 'Don't you have work to do?'  
Smiling she took her coffee to her work station. 'Nice to see you made it in Pip.'  
'Thank you Suzie.'  
Ianto tucked his smile away before heading back to the coffee machine, the cog door alarm announcing Owens' arrival.

Jack was almost optimistic as he watched the team interacting with the newest member. Not that his concerns had stretched to Tosh or Suzie. Owen was distant and cold, there was no teasing over lunch and no joking around as the day dragged on. Following Ianto in the archives after lunch he needed the solitude he found best in the younger man's presence.  
'Jack, whatever it is you're thinking about, its giving me a headache.'  
'I'm sorry Yan, it's this whole Owen and Pip dynamic.'  
'Have you asked Owen what the problem is?'  
Jack snorted. 'He isn't exactly very forthcoming.'  
'I could put something in his coffee.'  
'While I appreciate the offer I can't condone that. I just hope they sort it out before it puts someone's life at risk out in the field.'  
'Even Owen isn't that much of a wanker.'  
Wrapping his arms around the Welshman Jack rested his head against Ianto's forehead. 'God I hope you're right Yan.'  
'I think, once the dust settles, your next big issue is going to be Suzie and Tosh both taking a fancy to Pip.'  
'That or this bloody liaison officer I'm being pushed into.'  
'I thought we were above the government and the police.'  
'We still answer to the Queen and even I can't argue with the risk the Weevils seem so determined to expose Cardiff to.'

Ianto moved his hands to rest on Jack's waist. 'Come on, I'll make everyone a coffee.'  
Jack brushed his lips against Ianto's before pulling back. 'Have you heard from your sister yet?'  
'I rang her when I was out getting lunch. David has a concussion and a broken wrist. They want to make sure he's okay before they let him go.'  
'And Lilah?'  
'She was having a picnic, in a blanket fort, watching cartoons with Mica when I phoned home.'  
Jack laughed as they walked out of the archives. 'Maybe we should build one of them later.' He stopped at the shouting and the look of contempt on his medic's face as he squared off against their new team member. 'Or not.'

'My problem with you? You want to know what my.' Owen shook his head. 'Three words, Mr Torchwood One poster boy.' He counted them off. 'May Ella Winston.'  
'Yeah? Read the file did you?' Pip stepped toward the shorter man.  
'She was a six year old little girl and you snatched her from her parents!'  
'Do you know what was inside her head, stealing away that little girl from her family?' Pip didn't back down as he considered what was the lowest point of his career with Torchwood. 'I think you know exactly what was destroying her, incubating in her brain. Along with what would happen if they tried to remove it.'  
'She was six years old! That thing blew the back of her head out!'  
Pip nodded. 'Yes it did and she died alone and screaming. Watched by god knows how many scientists including the sainted Hartman herself, standing safely outside a glass prison. But did you check all the files? Did you see the great big fat censure on my records? Or is your security clearance not high enough to snoop that information out of the London Server?' 

He stepped even closer to Owen, using his height to tower over the shorter man. 'I didn't join Torchwood to snatch little girls from their hospital beds. To let them die when the alien incubating in the brain decided it was either threatened enough, or ready to leave on it's own accord. So maybe you should get Ianto or your computer whiz to dig up the rest of my file before you get all pissy at me.' He stepped back, a look of utter disdain plastered on his face, as if Owen was something he not only stepped in, but now needed to clean off the carpet.

'I'm glad you took the time to get to know me before you judged me. Oh, no, wait. Let me tell you what you didn't bother looking for Doctor Owen Harper. I was given a choice. After I broke my training officer’s nose. I could have walked away from Torchwood and every crap-tastic thing they did and stood for. Memories wiped, head injury conveniently planted in my medical records with an insurance pay out even. Or I could stay, and try and mitigate the damage we all did out there. Every. Damn. Day.' Words punctuated with a finger pointing at the Doctor. 'You can hide from life in this underground bat cave complete with your Alfred to Jack's Batman.' Pointing at Ianto. 'Or you can make a god damn difference. I chose not to hide.' He turned his back on Owen, walking away.

Jack watched as Ianto reached out and stopped him, whispered in his ear and nodded before he headed deeper into the Hub.  
'Do I want to know what you said?' Watching Ianto flash him a grin that left him in little doubt that no, in point of fact, he probably did not want nor need to know. 'Okay then.' He tilted his head slightly to the side and watched Ianto walk away, before turning to the rest of his team. 'Owen Harper! My office. Now.'

Spinning on his heal he didn't bother checking he was being followed as he took his seat behind his desk. 'I don't want your excuses Owen, and best you shut the door. I do however need to know if you've gotten this, whatever it is.' Waving his hand. 'Out of your system yet.' He fixed Owen with an icy look. 'I need to know if I can trust you out in the field with Pip because right now I'm not seeing it.'  
Owen folded in on himself. 'Torchwood One's record -.'  
Jack cut him off. 'I am more than familiar with Torchwood's record.'  
'Are you?'  
'I'm older than I look.' He snapped. 'But are you quite done holding Pip responsible for decisions he didn't make.' It wasn't a question.

Owen reached into his pocket and withdrew the photo he carried there, thumb brushing the image. 'What would have happened, if you had found her, before the surgery?'  
'I wouldn't have put her in a glass box to watch her die Owen.'  
'Was there really nothing that could have been done? For either of them?'  
Jack sighed. 'We don't know enough about them and there isn't the technology to deal with them based on what we do know. We don't even know if putting someone in the freezer will help. Since you’ve read everything we have on that particular alien you already know the answer. But all that aside, I need to know you can play nicely.'  
Owen nodded, photo tucked away once more. 'It's just, we were good as a small team and now we have Ianto and this Pip guy.'

Jack nodded. 'Yes and I'm considering adding a microbiologist with a specialization in xenobotany to the team along with another archivist maybe. And, if I can find one, a second medic. Are you going to welcome them with open arms or more hostility?'  
'Why the sudden need to increase the team?'  
'Putting aside safety factors, are you so up to date with your paperwork you don't need time off?'  
Owen sighed, his voice quiet. 'If I have time off I remember what I lost.'  
'If you have time off you might also see what's right in front of you.' Jack leaned back in his seat. 'Just, figure it out Owen and don't slam my door on your way back to your desk.'

Jack waited for him to leave before resting his head in his hands, wondering if he had done the right thing in inviting Pip to join the team. And wondering where this would all end as he figuratively tossed yet another ball into the air to be balanced between the others.


	14. This is the Hub

Ianto sighed as he swung his feet into Jack's lap.  
'Rhi and David okay?'  
'Yeap. Although part of that is the painkillers the boy's on and Mica seemed to enjoy the day with Lilah.' He groaned softly as Jack began massaging his feet. 'How likely is it, that Owen can knock out a truth spray by tomorrow.'  
'More lies in advertising?' Grinning as a single eyebrow raised in response. 'I'm sure they'll find something soon.' Jack looked around the room. 'Where are our house guests?'  
'Estate agent called, Pip said he'd pick something up for dinner.'  
'So, we have the place to ourselves...' Jack leaned over and placed a kiss on the corner of Ianto's mouth. 'Just you. Me and -.'  
A voice called out. 'Hay guys we picked a couple of pizzas up.'

Pip wondered into the sitting room and grinned. 'Sorry, didn't realize you were busy.'  
Jack had his hand palming Ianto's face, thumb brushing his cheek before he pulling back. 'Pizza sounds good.'  
Ianto reluctantly swung his feet around and stood, waiting for Jack. 'Where did you get them from?'  
'Jubilee, Lilah found a review online. Kids and technology aye.'

In the kitchen they found Lilah setting plates and napkins out on the table.  
'So I ran a new search dad.' Pointing at the laptop open on the counter. 'There's a few new listings including a semi detached that looks nice.'  
'You didn't like the terrace house we just looked at?'  
'Ah, no.' She snorted as she set the pizzas in the middle of the table. 'It reeked of cat pee.'  
Ianto scanned the listing. 'This one is in your preferred area.'  
Jack, slice of pizza in hand wondered over, leaning over his shoulder. 'Looks solid enough.'  
Ianto leaned back into Jack as he looked over at Pip. 'Short commute to work, the right school zoning and off street parking.'  
'I'll call the agent later. Come on, before it gets cold or Jack eats everything.'  
Ignoring the comment they moved to the table, Jack leaned into Ianto and suggesting a bubble bath. Grinning as the younger man flushed a delicate shade of rose pink and nodded.  
Lilah groaned. 'That leaves me the dishes doesn't it.'  
'I believe it does young lady, since I have an estate agent to call.'  
'Oh yay.'  
'If it helps there should still be some ice cream in the freezer.' Ianto pointed out.  
Jack grinned. 'We totally need that Yan, we can eat it in the bath.' Pouting as he was treated to an eye rolling.

Wednesday saw Pip and Lilah looking at properties while Jack and Ianto both privately hoped for a quiet day. Although perhaps not for the same reasons. Ianto was having lunch with an old friend to see if she would be open to working once more as an archivist for Torchwood. Jack just wanted peace within his team. Understanding Owen didn't excuse his behaviour and he could only hope yesterday's outburst was enough to finally lay the ghost of Katie Russell to rest.

Owen wasn't sure how he felt about the changes to the team that had started with the arrival of Ianto Jones in their midst. His inner cynic wanted to blame Ianto for bringing memories back he'd long hoped were forgotten. At war with this was Ianto himself who still made coffee just how he liked it. Suggesting any struggle with the changes circling them were his alone. He exchanged bland greetings with Tosh and Suzie and tried to work though the never ending pile of paperwork on his desk. Knowing if he was a better man he'd apologize for his behaviour, perhaps he'd think about that tomorrow.  
Lunchtime was hard for Jack knowing Ianto was speaking with another of his former London friends and colleagues. Sitting in a restaurant with his team, waiting for Ianto to call he wasn't able to enjoy his lunch. Suzie teased him until he leaped out of his seat when his phone finally did ring. She watched him begin to resume his usual self as he rejoined the table and even managed to smile when they reached the Tourist Office the same time as their archivist. Making her wonder just how serious things were between the two men, and if they'd all get invited to the wedding.  
Oblivious to everything except Ianto, Jack held back as the others headed inside, waiting until they were out of sight.

'She say why she wasn't interested?'  
'When she stopped laughing.'  
'I still don't understand how she can be an ex Torchwood One employee and still have her memories. Yvonne wasn't known for her generosity of spirit.'  
'Retcon doesn't work on everyone Jack. The boys in the labs used to call it gods ten percent. Although I've looked at the research and it's more like his ten thousandth of a percent but whats a decimal point between friends. Point is, when she quit just over a year ago they gave her a number of choices and she opted for the one she knew wouldn't work.'  
'Still, she must have been bloody good at not letting anyone know.'  
'I can assure you, Ms Perkins is anything but unconvincing Jack. Short version is she thanked me for lunch, laughed at the job offer and declined.'  
Jack pulled Ianto into his arms and nodded. 'Looks like it's just you in the archives then.'  
'So it would seem.'  
'Oh well, come on, lets get back to work. Don't suppose Pip called to let you know he's found a house and will be moved out by the time we get home?'  
Ianto laughed as he pulled back. 'You do realize they have only been staying for a few days.'  
'Yes but last night you said you were ready to take things further and I have a feeling you're a bit of a screamer, so, I want the house to ourselves...'  
Ianto had to focus on keeping his expression bland as he considered what Jack was saying. A germ of an idea forming as he smiled. 'We could just stay in the Hub tonight.' He leaned in, his voice low. 'Just you and me. I don't think Janet and Myfanwy are going to say anything if I do turn out to be.' He paused, lips licked before he whispered. 'Vocal. Sir.' Turning he headed into the Tourist office, calling back. 'Coming?'  
Jack had to stifle a groan as he considered that while he might not be, it wouldn't take much persuasion to change that. 'How am I supposed to get any work done now?'

Ianto turned in the doorway and grinned. 'Perhaps you need a reward chart Sir.'  
Crossing the distance between them he considered the suggestion. 'What sort of rewards might we be talking here?' A raised eyebrow and a suggestive smile were his only response before Ianto turned away and headed for the door into the Hub.  
Bringing coffee to Jack, after dropping cups on desks for the others Ianto found the older man doodling on his paperwork, lost in thought as he looked up.  
'If we did stay here tonight, Pip could come in tomorrow with his daughter, and Lilah could be introduced to Torchwood.'  
'And threatened with a Scottish boarding school if memory serves.'  
Jack nodded. 'I find her an interesting child.'  
'Aren't we all children compared to you Jack?'  
'That wouldn't be a remark designed to infer things about my age now would it.'  
'Of course not.' Ianto dropped into the chair that always sat, waiting for him.  
'Ah ha.'  
'Does this mean you would like me to call him?'  
Jack took a measured breath and reached for Ianto's hand. 'Only if you want to, I don't want to rush you towards anything or presume if we do stay here tonight that we'll have sex.'  
'Part of that will be dependant on what aliens Owen has in the freezer, since not all of them seem to stay there as memory serves.' Ianto let his face form a smile as he watched Jack and considered how to reassure the man that he wouldn't be presuming too much at all. 'I wont lie, I have some concerns about how it actually works but I trust you.' He watched as Jack relaxed and picked his coffee cup up. Concern rewritten with charm as they drank their coffees in silence.

Ianto watched the others leave before he headed into Jack's office.  
'Yan, I've managed to get us a table at the French place by the memorial, has everyone gone home?'  
'Yeap.'  
Jack grinned as he rose to his feet and moved around to lean on his desk. 'So it's just you and me then.'  
'And you have dinner all arranged.'  
'I do, did you speak with Pip?'  
'He laughed and said they'll see us tomorrow, he also said it will give him an opportunity to talk to Lilah without an audience. What time is the table booked for?'  
'Seven.'  
Ianto checked his watch. 'That gives us two hours.' He leaned in, his voice low in Jack's ear. 'Sir.' Knowing it effected the older man to be called Sir outside of anything resembling work. 'What ever will we do to entertain ourselves for two. Whole. Hours?'  
'I have a few ideas.'  
'That wont make us late for the reservation?'  
Jack laughed. 'There is that, but I'm sure a man with a stopwatch can think of a few things that wont make us late.'  
Ianto leaned back so he could look into Jack's eyes. 'That sounds suspiciously like you have a list.'  
'You don't?'  
He shrugged. 'I might. After all, there's lots of things you can do with a stopwatch.'  
'Really.' Jack smiled before leaning in to loosen Ianto's tie. 'Best we start working on that list then.' His lips finding those of his Welshman.

Two hours passed in a flurry of kisses and outrageous promises whispered in the quiet of the Hub. With Ianto keeping an eye on time so they were not late for their reservation. They were seated by a suitably rude waiter and given menus written in French, Welsh and English. Such was the pretension of the restaurant. Ianto left Jack to the wine list while he mentally circled the grammatical and translation errors in the tri-lingual menu. There was a temptation to point the errors out to their waiter with his faux French accent but he suspected it wasn't worth the risk of retaliation towards his dinner.  
Beyond that, theirs was a pleasant evening as they chatted over their meal. Ianto particularly liked how Jack would throw his head back and laugh and uncaring of who might see them, he let himself enjoy being with the older man. Here, for all that it was clearly one of Jack's kinks, there was no Sir. No boss and no shadow of Torchwood hanging over them. In this very moment they were simply two men, clearly more than just friends as they found reasons to touch across the table. To brush a smudge of chocolate sauce from the corner of lips as everyone else faded away around them. Although Jack did let Ianto have his fun by thanking the waiter in French which caused him to get flustered and drop the French accent for his native Welsh.  
With the cheque settled Jack helped Ianto into his coat, hands lingering on the younger man's shoulders. Leaning in he asked if he was ready for bed yet. Hand moving down his arm as hands clasped and fingers entwined. Ianto nodded. Jack grinned. And for just a moment, the world stood still until they were standing in the Plass and Jack pushed a button on his wrist strap. He leaned in and whispered. 'I'd love to have you right here and really test the chameleon circuit. But right now I want you in my bed.'

Ianto leaned into Jack, eyes half closed, breath catching as he didn't even bother trying to disguise the naked lust currently pooling hot blood in his groin. 'You keep talking like that and we wont make it to the bed.'  
Jack laughed low and dirty. Hands moving across Ianto's chest as he spun him around. Lips devoured the very breath of the man before Jack pulled up for air and stepped off the stone. 'Time to put the invisible lift to bed, Jones. Ianto Jones. Among other things.' His hand reached out, smile genuine as Ianto grabbed him and allowed himself to be drawn though the Hub.

Once in the bunker Ianto let Jack undress him, watching with cat eyes as his clothes where folded or hung carefully on the back of a chair. Jack's own clothes where left where they fell as he concentrated on getting them both naked. Kisses dragged across skin and they tumbled onto the bed pulling the covers up around themselves. Pliant to Jack's touch Ianto let himself feel and didn't think. They had talked though what was going to happen and he'd known it was the time to stop talking when the idea of sex no longer filled him with concern. Not when he could be filled with something else. He could concede, that no amount of internet searches where a match, for the care and concern with which Jack was approaching their first time together.  
Ianto lay on his back, pillow under his hips and legs hooked over Jack's shoulders as he concentrated on slow relaxed breaths. And in that moment everything changed as he felt Jack moving and he forgot how to breathe. Jack's eyes searched his, warm hands on his hips held him still and he adjusted to the weight and fullness of what was the single sexiest moment of his life. Nodding he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head as Jack moved. Colours burst behind his eyes and reluctantly he opened them so he could see Jack. Nothing else mattered as keening moans of pleasure were drawn from deep within him. In that one single moment he felt complete. Reaching out to Jack he cried out as the man above him filled him up in such a way that Ianto Jones knew he was lost.

Sweat cooled on their bodies as they lay tangled in each other with exhausted grins plastered on self satisfied faces. With a contented sigh Jack curled up against Ianto and let sleep tug gently at his thoughts. Everything was different now and for the first time in a long time he no longer felt quite so alone and it was intoxicating. As was the sight of a wreaked Ianto laying stretched out alongside him. A man who knew there were risks in loving someone such as himself. A reformed conman cursed with the inability to stay dead and a history of lost lovers. Most wouldn't and didn't bother trying to compete with that once they found out and he wondered if that wasn't the main reason for his attraction to Ianto. Until the man stirred, giving him one of those looks that suggested he knew what Jack was thinking and should shut up and go to sleep.  
Ianto reached out and ran his fingertips along Jack's jaw. 'You do think too much, you know.'  
'I know Yan, it's just as well I don't need as much sleep.'  
Rolling onto his side Ianto let a smile play at the corner of his lips. 'If you're going to lay there awake I can think of a much better use of your time.'  
In the half light of the Hub reflecting into the bunker Jack grinned. 'Really?'  
'Really.'

Ianto rose though the depths of sleep as the alarm tugged him from dreams. Finding Jack still wrapped around him planted a smile on his lips, followed by a good morning kiss.  
'You weren't watching me sleep were you Jack?'  
'No but I was waiting for you to wake up.'  
'Isn't that the same thing?'  
'Maybe, but I didn't want you to find me not here, after last night...' He let his voice trail off as he waited for a response. He was rewarded with a smile.  
'Worried what I might think if I woke to a cold bed?'  
'That and of what might happen to me if I got tempted to use the coffee machine.' He watched as Ianto's eyes narrowed. 'I promise I haven't touched it. But how, I mean, are you okay?'  
'I don't have any regrets. Come on, I'll make breakfast.'  
'Or I can cook breakfast while you make the coffee.'  
Ianto was tempted to laugh at the hopeful smile he was treated to as he simply nodded. 'Alright then, but we should get dressed first.'  
Jack looked through the contents of the fridge and shook his head. 'It's no good Yan, neither Jamie Oliver nor Julia Child could make breakfast out of this fridge.'  
'Nothing?'  
'Maybe penicillin which is either a science project or an abandoned scone.'  
'Oh.' Ianto reached for two coffee cups. 'I haven't been here enough to notice we were getting low on the basics.'

Jack moved up behind him, arms snaking around his waist. 'It's not like I checked either. How about we drink our coffees and then I'll take you out for breakfast.' Resting his head on the younger man's shoulder he let the aroma of fresh coffee surround him. Eyes following the artful movements of elegant hands, the alchemy of making coffee unfolding before him. 'Any preference for where?'  
Ianto carefully turned in Jack's arms. 'We haven't tried the new place out in the Plass yet.'  
'We could take the invisible lift.'  
'We could.' Ianto agreed, enjoying the light in Jack's eyes. He much preferred the almost child like glow over the soul wrenching loneliness he'd first seen in the man. Even if it meant he had to be the grown up. 'Shall we drink our coffee then Sir.'

They sat in the corner of the cafe, the smell of fresh paint underlying that of the freshly ground and brewed coffee they were sipping. Ianto had to grudgingly accept that this coffee was rather good. Jack of course insisted it wasn't as good as his own but Ianto had his suspicions that was a comment laced in politeness.

Jack laughed as he picked up Ianto's heavily projected thought and reached for his hand. 'I'm not known for being polite Yan.' Thumb brushing the inside of his wrist he marvelled at the almost porcelain like skin he was presented with. Knowing exactly what was hidden behind the suit he found that barest exposure of Ianto's skin just that little bit sexier than he had the day before. Lounging in his thoughts he barely noticed when his full English breakfast was set before him. He registered Ianto thanking someone but wasn't able to tell if it was the kid with the mohawk that brought their breakfast to them, or the older woman with the long braided hair. Smiling at his dining companion he didn't think it mattered.  
Walking across the Plass Jack watched the slowly milling people around them and remembered what it was he wanted to ask Ianto. 'What time is Pip bringing Lilah to the Hub?'  
'He is seeing a solicitor this morning so he thought maybe around ten.'  
'Solicitor?'  
'He said he wanted to put a conditional offer on a house.' Ianto watched Jack's eyes light up.  
'Really? So we could be building our blanket fort for naked hide and seek at home sooner rather than later.'  
'Naked hide and seek? Should I ask?'  
'No. But.' Jack pulled Ianto onto the invisible lift, arm securely wrapped around his waist as he purred in his ear. 'I'll be more than happy to show you.'  
'Perhaps when we are alone.' 

Stepping off the stone square as the cog door rolled back and Tosh walked in followed by Suzie and Owen. 'I believe I have coffees to make. Are we expecting any aliens to invade today Sir?'  
'I bloody hope not.' Owen called out.  
Jack looked over at Tosh who began tapping away at her keyboard, shaking her head.  
'If my rift predictor program is to be believed we are not due any rift activity until tomorrow, probably around lunch time.'  
'What about the weevils, they've been quiet of late.' Suzie called across the room.  
'Sorry Suzie, since they are already here they don't have enough rift energy to register.'  
Owen pulled his lab coat on and shook his head. 'If you've just jinxed us Suzie I will be very disappointed in you.'  
She scoffed. 'Hardly, and you know I can take you.'  
Everyone laughed at that, leaving Owen glaring before stalking back to his computer. 'Only because I'm a gentleman.' He muttered under his breath.

Ianto checked his watch before nodding to Jack and heading for the tourist office. He stepped out from behind the beaded curtain he'd been meaning to talk to Jack about replacing as the door opened. 'Pip, Lilah.'  
'Morning Ianto.' Pip nodded.  
Lilah looked up from the dusty brochures and nodded. 'Not what I was expecting.'  
Pip looked at her and frowned. 'Did you think there would be an office building with a directory sign in the lobby?'  
'There was in London.'  
Ianto nodded. 'She's not wrong. Perhaps you would like to follow me.' Pushing the button under the desk. 'The others are expecting their coffee so best we don't keep them waiting hmm.'  
Eyes rolled for good measure Lilah sighed as she followed her father and Ianto. 'So totally not what I was expecting, he made me wait out there while he parked his car you know.'

Jack walked out of his office and watched the seventeen year old as she walked into the main part of the Hub. Her eyes grew wide before she slapped her more usual teenage look of annoyance in place. Finding Ianto's blue eyes he observed the younger man give him a quick eye rolling of his own. Sometimes he forgot the man was only a few years older than the child currently looking around the room. It made him realize how much he'd missed in not being a part of lives of his own children. And that perhaps that there was still time to reach out to Alice and Steven. Something he filed away as Pip introduced his daughter to the team.  
'So.' Lilah looked around at the Hub. 'You have any aliens locked up then?'  
'One or two.' Owen snapped. 'But they don't need feeding right now.'  
'Wow, did they leave the toy out of your happy meal or what.'  
'Oi, you listen here young lady.'  
Lilah cut Owen off by laughing. 'Yeap, totally forgot the toy.' She turned to Ianto. 'You need a hand with those coffees then? I'd love to see this beast of a coffee machine Jack was raving about.' She paused as she moved to follow him. 'Please, dear god, tell me it was the coffee machine he was talking about.'  
'I believe.' Ianto responded in his best butler tone. 'It was indeed the coffee machine.'  
'Cool.'

Pip was able to stop himself laughing at the look on Owen's face but Tosh and Suzie did not. He clapped the doctor on the shoulder and nodded. 'Yeap. She gets that from her mother.'  
Jack laughed as he joined them. 'The more time I spend with her, the more I like her. Did you get everything sorted at the solicitors?'  
'I have a conditional offer on one of the places we saw yesterday, pending the engineer's report.'  
Tosh rolled back to her desk and pulled a window up. 'Which one?'  
'The semi detached.'  
'Not the red brick Victorian?'  
'Ah no, cat pee aside, apparently the problem with the plumbing was the tip of the iceberg. And I don't really see myself working on a renovation in between chasing weevils and alien tat.' He grinned as Ianto and Lilah approached with coffees. 'Besides, the sooner the girl and I are in our own place the sooner Jack and Ianto can get back to making babies.'  
'Jeez dad.' Lilah set a packet of tea cakes on the edge of Tosh's desk.  
Pip gave an exaggerated sigh. 'Don't have children.'  
Handing the coffee's around Ianto laughed. 'Unless there is something Jack forgot to mention...' He winked, knowing the idea wasn't as totally impossible as the others might believe. 'Then I think I'm safe.'  
'Whatever, I'm a downright dream.'  
'Oh yes, a regular ray of sunshine.' He intoned with just the hint of a smile behind his austere expression.

Lilah rolled her eyes. 'And don't you forget it. So, this is what a secret government alien catching base looks like in Cardiff.' Carrying her cup she sipped the coffee while making a cursory circuit of the room. 'It's very train station in the blitz chic.'  
'It grows on you. But if you want a tea cake you best get one before Tosh and Jack demolish the packet.' He flashed his tentative half smile before the mask slipped back in place.  
Jack reached for a tea cake and unwrapped it, watching Lilah do the same. 'Did your father explain everything?' Starting with the base before concentrating on the marshmallowy centre.  
'If you mean that I get sent to boarding school in Outer Mongolia if I say anything? Then yes.'  
'Scotland, actually.'  
'Whatever, if you wipe my memories I'd have to start the school year all over again so it may as well be Mongolia.' She frowned. 'Not that the alternative of being sent back to Lilith is any better. So it's keep mum or move back in with mum.'  
'That does rather cover it.'  
She gave Jack a bow of acknowledgement. 'Trust me, that's more than enough incentive. Now.' She looked up at the ceiling. 'Where is this dinosaur?'  
Ianto set his empty coffee cup down. 'You can help me feed her if you like.'  
'Fuck yes.'

Pip glared at his daughter. 'Language young lady.'  
'Don't have a coronary dad.'  
'We've talked about this.'  
'No, Lilith yelled at me, hardly the same thing. Christ, it's just a word.' She rolled her eyes and moved after Ianto. 'Anyway, I've got a dinosaur to feed.'  
Pip turned to Jack. 'Really, I mean it, they start out all cute and innocent but they turn into teenagers and it's really all over by that point.'  
Jack laughed. 'That's one of the things I love about this planet, with all the contraceptives in the rain I don't have to worry about that, it's brilliant.' He winked before walking back to his office, getting halfway there when the rift alarms went off. Reversing direction he moved to Tosh's desk.  
'Talk to me Toshiko.'  
'It's not a very big signal, looks like some junk that needs picking up.'  
'Cool, road trip, and it's not even in Splott.'  
Tosh giggled as she typed away. 'Sploe Jack, it's pronounced Sploe.'  
'I know, I live with a Welshman.' He was about to say something else when he heard the phone ring in his office. 'I need a secretary.' He debated ignoring the phone but that had never worked in the past and given the few people who had the number it was easier just to answer it now. 'Fine, I have to get that.' He turned to Suzie. 'Why don't you and Owen take the new guy and fetch the alien tat.'

Suzie looked at Pip and laughed. 'If it's alien silly putty just leave it to Owen, he's the expert.'  
Across the room Owen glared at her. 'That stuff took ages to get out of my clothes I'll have you know.'  
'Whatever. Come on boys, but I'm driving.'  
'What retrieval gear do we need?'  
'Well, if you're anything like Owen you'll operate on the wing and a prayer method, I however.' She pulled a toolbox out from under her desk. 'Prefer to be a little more organized. When we get back we'll go over what you might need, unless you kept a London kit?'  
'I may have one in the car if we've got time to pick it up?'  
Suzie nodded. 'We have time.' She looked over at Owen. 'Come on then, we don't have all bloody day.'  
'Yeah, keep your shirt on love.' Owen picked his medical bag up. 'Place isn't exactly on fire now is it.'  
Pip looked at Tosh who nodded as she handed him a comms unit.  
'She'll be fine with Ianto, you know how to use this?'  
He turned it over and nodded. 'Wish me luck Toshiko.' He was treated to a warm smile as she waved him off.  
'Go on, don't keep Suzie and Owen waiting, things have a tendency to blow up around those two.'  
'There's a charming thought.' Pip grinned as he slipped the comms unit in place and headed towards the Torchwood garage.

Ianto took his tray with two coffee cups up to Jack's office, where he found him glaring at the phone. 'I'm sure whatever the phone has done it is truly sorry Jack.'  
'I'm sure it isn't.' He muttered as he pulled Ianto onto his lap. 'Do we know when the others will be back?'  
'On their way now.'  
'And Lilah?'  
'With Tosh, we could join them if you like.'  
'No, I need to talk to someone about call.' Meeting Ianto's gaze he smiled at the warmth reflected back at him. 'But you already knew that.'  
'I do?'  
Pulling him down for a kiss Jack whispered. 'Ah ha.' As he claimed Ianto's lips.  
'So a Police and or UNIT liaison then?'  
'There was a suggestion, and if I didn't know better I'd think they were stitching me up between them.'  
'Colonel Mace and Superintendent Evens?' He took Jack's silence for a yes. 'Last Heddlu liaison was the seventies.'  
'Yeap, Constable Hugh Jones. Not that he was a patch on you Yan. Total health nut who didn't even drink coffee but he was solid enough.'  
'I understand they released him from Providence Park a few years ago.'  
'He now lives in some charming little bucolic village with a name I can't even hope to spell or even pronounce.'  
'What happened? His file was somewhat, sketchy.'  
'He looked into the eyes of a monster and lost his mind.' Jack smiled softly as a hand reached for his. 'We set Flat Holm up not long after that. Providence Park just wasn't up to helping some of the more damaged souls Torchwood had to clean up after.' His tone filled with regret.

Ianto rose to his feet and moved to the chair beside the desk. 'And who do they want us to take?'  
Jack pulled a file out of a pile on his desk.  
'Oh.' Recognizing the name. 'I see.'  
'Gods if I do Yan.'  
'Or, you could drink your coffee.' He leaned towards Jack, thickening his Welsh accent. 'Then, you could, whisper in my ear what we'll do when we get home.'  
Jack grinned. 'I love the way your mind works sometimes.'  
'Only sometimes Sir?'  
Recognizing the smirk on his lover's lips for what it was, an attempt to lighten his mood, he winked. 'We could have sent them home now if not for the three on retrieval.'  
Ianto was about to respond when they both heard the alarm signalling the cog door opening.  
'Come on Yan, lets see what the kids found.'

Owen stood back as Pip set the containment box down. Arms folded across his chest and a scowl inscribed on his face as if carved in stone. It didn't take a mind reader to recognize he wasn't happy. The look in of itself wasn't all that uncommon, but the question on Ianto's lips was, why? What had given him a black aura this time.  
'Oh laugh it up London boy, it was not fucking funny.'  
Pip did laugh as he opened the containment box. 'It was a tennis ball Owen.'  
Ianto gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. 'No Pip, it's Doctor Owen, he doesn't like us to forget he went to medical school.'  
Unfolding his arms Owen glared. 'No teaming up with him against me.'  
Ignoring him Ianto flashed a smile. 'He calls me tea boy so I fear you are stuck with London boy until he works out something even catchier.'  
Jack looked at Suzie and frowned. 'You found an alien tennis ball?'  
Her head shook, curls dancing while trying not to laugh. 'Ah no, it was another one of those exploding orange snot rock things.'  
'Oh.' He bounced on his feet as his thumbs slipped inside his braces. 'More alien silly putty. Wonder what colour this one is.'  
'They come in different colours? Anyway, he recognized it and told Pip he could go ahead and pick it up.'  
Pip laughed. 'His body language totally screamed Admiral Ackbar at me.'  
'To be fair.' Suzie added. 'It was rather a trap so when this one threw something at Owen after picking the rock up, yelling catch.' She started laughing unable to finish speaking.  
'I thought she was going to wet herself when he screamed. Although, to give him credit, he did catch the tennis ball I threw at him.'  
'Bastards.' Owen muttered as he moved to put his medical kit away. 'That orange snot was impossible to get out of my leather jacket, I had to buy a new one. Even tea boy couldn't get it out.'  
'That's true. My google search for how to remove alien silly putty from leather was, unremarkable in its unsuccessfulness. I did however cut the jacket into smaller pieces to test different cleaning methods, should we encounter it -.'

Owen interrupted with a shriek. 'What? That was an expensive Italian jacket.'  
Jack tut tutted. 'Should have brought British made.'  
'Oh like that would have made a difference.' Owen snapped. 'You lot are all wankers.'  
Tosh looked out from behind her computer. 'I hope that doesn't include me Owen.'  
'Well, I can make an exception for you Toshiko. But the rest of them?' He shook his head.  
Putting the rock in a hazard bag Pip sealed it. 'Where do you want me to put this?'  
'Perhaps the secure archives? Sir?' Ianto spoke quickly before Owen could. He moved to the desk he used when working in the Hub itself and began entering details into the database he'd worked on with Tosh. Cataloguing the retrieval and printing out a card for the bag he tucked the card in the front pocket. 'Or should I just file it in the general archives.'  
'Very funny tea boy. What's for lunch?' Knowing he'd been cut off before he could contribute his suggestion for where the innocent looking rock could be stored.

With impeccable timing the cog door rolled back once more, alarm sounding around them as Lilah walked in carrying a box.  
'Wasn't sure what everyone liked so I hope fish and chips are okay.' She looked around and wondered what she'd missed. The doctor looked like someone had put his stethoscope in the fridge and everyone else was either laughing or trying not to. Even Ianto had a faint ghost of a smile dancing on the edges of his lips.  
Stepping into play Ianto nodded. 'To the conference room please Lilah, I take it Tosh dispatched you for lunch?' He moved towards her.  
'Yeah, she said the others were on their way back, baring any emergencies she thought it might be a good idea.'  
Tosh looked at Owen. 'Wasn't sure if anyone would be needing to make a mad dash to the showers and didn't think she needed to see that. She is only seventeen after all.'  
With a sigh Owen shook his head. 'You surprise me Tosh.' Before turning on his heal to head after Ianto, Lilah and lunch. 'Hope you got cod and not some crappy frost fish or something.'  
Her voice drifted back. 'I'm English, of course I got bloody cod.'  
Pip frowned as he moved after his daughter. 'Language young lady.'

Jack looked from Suzie to Tosh and held his arms out. 'Looks like it's up to me to escort the two of you lovely ladies to the table.'  
Suzie slapped his arm away and headed off on her own while Tosh gave a bow and accepted.

Lunch over Jack, about to broach the subject of a police liaison joining the team was trying to work out how to get Lilah out of the room when Pip jumped out of his seat.  
Pulling his phone out he grinned. 'Sorry, it's the agent I have to take this.' Answering the phone he stepped out of the room, followed by Lilah.  
Jack, never one to pass an opportunity looked around the room. 'Now the kid's not in the room I have to tell you something.'  
'I know.' Owen snapped his fingers. 'You guys are getting married and you want all of us to be the flower girls.'  
'Not this week Owen, but we do have a liaison officer joining us on Monday.'  
'A fucking what now?' Owen pushed his empty plate aside. 'What the bleeding heck do we want one of them for?'  
'Not my idea Owen, I tried putting the Police and UNIT off for as long as I could but until we work out what has the weevils boiler suits in a twist, I've got everyone and the Queen wanting answers.'  
'Yeah but a liaison?'  
'Apparently.'  
Any further comments were cut off as they all heard Lilah shriek through the closed door.  
'Should we be worried?' Tosh looked from Jack to Ianto who both looked just as confused.

The door opened and an excited teenager rushed into the room and threw her arms around Ianto.  
Laughing Pip followed, prying his daughter off the archivist. 'Steady on love, apparently Jack has a strict rule about not getting flirty with Ianto. Which I can only assume extends to physical contact.'  
'Shut up dad.' She let Ianto go and drew Jack in for the next hug. 'I'm happy.'  
'Oh, well in that case.' He sat down and looked around at his team mates. 'I've brought a house. It needs some work, I mean, the wallpaper was ugly in the seventies. Nothing structural thankfully.'  
Tosh grinned. 'When do you finalize it all?'  
'Sign the papers tomorrow and pick the keys up, it's vacant now so I will be moved in as soon as I get my stuff out of storage in London.' Pip looked around the room and frowned. 'What did I miss? Owen doesn't have a part in a burlesque show and we're all expected to buy tickets I hope.'  
'Oh very funny London boy.'

Tosh shook her head with a smile. 'We've all already seen Owen either naked or wrapped in just a towel. No need to buy tickets to that.'  
Looking at Tosh, Owen wondered why he'd never really noticed her before. He also realized he needed to say something so he went with a dramatically timed. 'Oi.' And she just shot a sweet smile at him, all butter wouldn't melt and he seriously considered that if there was a god, he was currently being tortured by him/her. Or possibly just Tosh for his not catching up fast enough.  
They were a small team, the emphasis on the past tense the way Jack kept dripping in new team members. He wasn't totally unaware of her crush, he just wasn't sure it was a good idea. With Suzie he always knew where he stood but Tosh, with her he risked breaking her heart. He couldn't do that to such a sweet person. He didn't want another relationship like the one he'd had with Katie, and Tosh was exactly the sort of girl you had that sort of relationship with. She deserved more than he could give her and he had to consider just how broken he was, that he wasn't able to be what she needed him to be. That he would likely never be what she needed him to be. And that made him a little sad.

Jack looked around the room at his team. Suzie her face unreadable, looking though the file he'd given her on their new liaison officer. Owen looked like he was having an epiphany and it seemed to sting. Tosh was clearly having fun, possibly teasing Owen if he recalled correctly what she'd said. Pip and Lilah were talking together, writing things down on the note pad Ianto always had with him in the conference room. Not that he needed to write anything down with his memory but that was just the ever prepared Ianto Jones. Who was currently looking at him across the table.  
Sitting with Pip and Lilah rather than in his usual seat to his right. A single thought projected in his mind belying the innocence of his appearance. And all Jack could do was grin and nod. He'd never taken the time to christen every room in his house yet. But apparently it was exactly what Ianto planned to do once their house guests were firmly moved into their new home. His thoughts filled with exquisite detail that left Jack in no doubts as to just how firmly they were in this relationship together. Grinning he added one or two ideas of his own. Never had he been more glad than the day he finally decided to ask London for a borrowed archivist and having been sent the remarkable young man sharing not only his bed. But also perhaps his heart.

\----------

Across Cardiff in his private home, Superintendent Evens poured two glasses of port, handing one to his guest he settled back in his chair. 'A toast Alan, to hopefully solving both of our shared problems.'  
Colonel Mace smiled. 'God I hope so. Between that infuriating Captain and those blasted aliens living in his sewers. You'd think I had nothing better to do.'  
'Shall we drink to Captain Jack Harkness and his new liaison officer? May she do his head in just like she did mine.'  
'Who exactly are you sending him? You just told me she'd be a complete pain in his posterior, and if she got herself killed in the process, or ends up in Providence Park like the last one, it wouldn't be any great loss.'  
'Oh it isn't anyone I'd regret losing that's for damned sure.' Finishing his glass he reached for the bottle. 'This is a rather nice port.'  
'Thank you, I've always liked the seventy seven Taylor, some port just tastes like juiced raisins but this one never disappoints.'  
'I couldn't agree more, top up?' Filling both glasses he sat back and raised his once more. 'To our new Torchwood liaison officer, Constable Gwen Cooper.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is where we leave Like a Library Book... For now.


End file.
